The Center
by gdzemama
Summary: Dr. Fitz Grant is the principal of a school for kids with behavior issues. Olivia Pope is an educational consultant, called in to fix some of the problems within the school. Love and drama to follow. Scandal is the property of ABC.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first fic so please go easy on me! I have been reading Scandal fics since I became a fan of the show earlier this year. I've read many of the amazing Olitz fics published on this site and really wanted to try my hand at my own. I recently made a claim that I didn't like AU fics, but I've since changed my mind. See, I know next to nothing about politics, but I do know a bit about my chosen topic. However, my story will contain characters and plot points from the series, because firstly, I'm just not talented enough to come up with something completely original, and secondly, if the only thing similar to the series itself is the character names and looks, than it's really not fan fiction, it's just fiction. Right?**

* * *

"If things keep going as they are," Dr. Fitz Grant paused in his effort to get his point across, "this school is going to crumble from the inside out. We really need to work together to bring change!" Fitz was the principal of a school for kids with severe behavioral issues. The kids were bussed in daily from 4 local group homes in the area. These were kids who were shuffled from one foster home to the next before the state decided they weren't fit for a family. Or kids who were adopted out of the system, but whose adoptive parents then decided they couldn't actually parent the child they chose. And still more were kids whose biological parents were too abusive or neglectful to be parents. The kids in Fitz's school had it hard. And their behavior showed it.

However, the school was supposed to be a safe place for the kids, a place where the teachers would know how to handle their difficulties and ways of expressing themselves. Unfortunately, it seemed that lately the so-called "quiet room," where kids were sent when they couldn't remain the classroom, was more crowded than the classrooms themselves. And not only that, but the staff in the quiet room seemed unable to calm the children when they were in there, instead riling them further. "So, any suggestions?" Fitz surveyed the group of teachers and support staff, his eyes moving from one to the next. No one was making eye contact. But in the back row, he spotted a woman he did not recognize. As his eyes settled on hers, he felt his heart-rate increase. And she stood up.

"As the principal, you really need to be getting into the classrooms," she said. "You can't just sit in your office by yourself all day. You need to watch the children with the teachers. You need to model how to interact with the kids and the teachers will learn from you. You have to get in that quiet room, get down on the mats with the kids when they're screaming and punching anything in a two foot radius, calm them down yourself. Nothing's going to change until YOU help it change."

Fitz stared at her. He felt like his legs might fail him as he briefly allowed himself to be mesmerized by her beautiful lips, her deep, round eyes, and her silky, shiny hair. He had never seen such a striking beauty. And he had never felt so completely overwhelmed by a woman the very first time he laid eyes upon her. "And you are?" he asked.

"Olivia," she replied. "Olivia Pope."

Something in his brain clicked. "Excuse me everyone," he said to his staff. "Cyrus, can I see you in my office please?" This was directed to his assistant, Vice Principal Cyrus Beene. Cyrus followed Fitz out of the room and down the hall to the school offices. Turning to Cyrus, Fitz spat out, "Fire her!"

"S-sir," Cyrus stuttered. "With all due respect. We need her. You were just saying a minute ago that something has to change here. And Olivia's the best educational consultant out there. She did me a huge favor coming out here to help us – "

Cyrus was interrupted by a softer voice from the doorway. "That's ok Cyrus," Olivia said. "I don't mind heading back home if I'm not needed here." She turned on her heel and headed away from the office.

Fitz rubbed his head. "Damn it," he said. "You really think she can fix us?"

"Of course I do," Cyrus answered. "I wouldn't have brought her in otherwise. Now go apologize!"

Fitz nodded and hurried from the room.

* * *

Olivia had made it about halfway from the office towards the front door of the school when she heard footsteps behind her. Expecting Cyrus, she turned. Instead, she saw Fitz. Her eyes traveled over his tall, muscular form before settling on his eyes. The bluest eyes she'd seen in recent memory. She inhaled, almost sharply, as he approached.

"Miss Pope, I apologize," he said.

"Why?" she asked snarkily.

"Why do I apologize?" he asked, a hint of a smile at his lips.

"No, why did you fire me?" she clarified. "Dr. Grant, I came out here as a favor to my friend Cyrus. He thought we'd work well together. He said you needed me. And you barely gave me a chance! You fired me before I even gave you any real suggestions. Are you that insecure that you couldn't handle just my mentioning getting yourself into the classrooms? Well trust me, if you don't even want to do that, I can't help you anyway."

"You're right," he replied. "I do need you." His eyes attached to hers and she stared up at him. She watched as the blue of his eyes slowly darkened and she felt the charge in the air. He was attracted to her, she realized, and she couldn't help but be flattered. Dr. Grant was an extremely attractive man. With difficulty, she tore her eyes from his, looked at his shoes. Then she looked up again.

"Is this why?" she asked, not bothering to explain what she meant. He nodded. "Should we just go back in there?" she suggested, gesturing towards the gym, where the staff was still waiting for his return.

"I think that's a good plan," he answered, another hint of a smile appearing, making his whole face brighten. She tried to control her breathing as she moved in front of him, knowing he was watching her from behind as she moved past him.

* * *

Soon enough, Olivia had Fitz in the classrooms, just as she'd suggested at their first meeting. The two of them were sitting on the floor in the 6-7 year old class, surrounded by 5 of the kids. Olivia was working with them on anger control, steps they could take to calm themselves, and ways to express their anger without hurting themselves or others. Fitz was just as entranced with her as the children were and he felt a stab of jealousy as one of the little boys climbed into Olivia's lap as she spoke. He watched as Olivia placed her hand on the boy's back, acknowledging his presence, all while she continued to work with the other 4 children. She had a way of making them each feel that she was there for him or her only. As he watched, Olivia's dark eyes raised and met his. Fitz held her gaze and could have sworn he saw her cheeks redden.

At that moment, Fitz felt the impact of a small body landing on his lap and he grinned as he realized he was now holding Alisha, one of the children who had been beside him on the rug a moment ago. Imitating how he'd seen Olivia interact with Tyler, the boy she still had in her lap, he placed his palm on Alisha's back. Then he returned his gaze to Olivia. She seemed to be looking at his large hand on Alisha's small back. Her eyes then returned to his and she gave him a small nod, letting him know she approved of his interaction with the child. This time, Fitz felt his own cheeks redden.

* * *

After spending time in most of the classrooms, some of the time with Dr. Grant and some of the time on her own, Olivia found herself in the quiet room. She knew from her conversations with Cyrus that this was the place that was giving the staff the most difficulty, as although the kids were meant to calm down in the room, they usually ended up angrier and more out of control after spending time there. Olivia wanted to observe the interactions with the children in the room and hoped to demonstrate better ways to work with them, so she sat to the side and waited. It wasn't long before a boy about 10 years old was brought inside. The usual direction for being sent to the quiet room was for the child to stand in a small squared off area while regaining control of his or her emotions. There were four of these squares available. The walls of the square were made from mats. If the child turned towards the wall, he or she would not see the eyes of the staff members, but if the child faced towards the open side of the area he or she would be looking directly at a large, intimidating staff member. Today, the staff member was Robert Huck – who it seemed was just referred to as Huck.

It was Olivia's feeling that the child should be allowed to scream and yell and throw himself into the mats as much as he wanted to, as long as he wasn't hurting himself or anyone else at the time, but Huck seemed intent to antagonize the boy who was now standing sullenly in one of the squares, toeing the side of the mat with his gym shoe clad foot. "Stop kicking the mat Wayne!" Huck scolded. And as Wayne started humming under his breath, Huck immediately hissed at him to quiet down. Now Wayne began muttering to himself, and Huck was on his feet and beside the boy in an instant. Olivia herself was startled by this move, so she was not surprised to see Wayne jump back from Huck, raising his arms in front of him. It looked to Olivia that Huck was about to reach for Wayne, and in her mind, touching Wayne would only incense him further. She was about to intervene, when another child was brought into the room. Huck turned away from Wayne and Olivia breathed easier as she saw Wayne relax.

The little girl who had entered the room seemed to be about 5 or 6. She was crying, sobbing actually. Olivia got to her feet, hoping that she could be an example on how to help an upset child. As she moved across the room, she was relieved to see Huck return to his seat in the front of the room. Olivia knelt down beside the small girl who had now curled herself up inside of her square. "What happened, honey?" she asked, wishing she knew the child's actual name.

The girl didn't answer, just sniffled and continue to leak tears all over herself. Olivia stayed kneeling beside her, saying nothing, just being there with the crying child. As Olivia's legs began to ache, finally the girl looked up. Olivia gave her an encouraging smile. "I want my mommy," she said.

Olivia felt her heart breaking for the child. "What happened in the classroom, sweetheart?" she asked.

Looking up at Olivia were the sweetest, dark brown eyes she had seen that day so far. "Ms. Quinn told us to read and it wasn't Kira's turn but she read and it was supposed to be my turn," she girl blurted.

Olivia smiled. "Did that make you mad?" she asked. She received a small nod in return. "And how do you feel now?" she asked.

"Tired," the girl answered.

Olivia almost laughed at the honest reply. "Do you think you're up to going back to class?" Another nod from the girl whose name she did not know, and Olivia reached for her hand, helping her to her feet. Then she turned to Huck, who was sitting at his deck, looking slightly interested in the interaction. "Is Wayne ready to return to class too?" she asked him.

Huck nodded, looking either annoyed or amused, Olivia wasn't sure. Turning to Wayne, she gestured at him to come with her, and she headed to the door, ready to bring the children back to their classrooms. It was then when she realized Dr. Grant was in the doorway of the room. He was leaning on the door frame, his arm up above his head in a fully casual stance, his blue eyes regarding Olivia with interest. "Dr. Grant, hello," she acknowledged.

He dropped his arm to his side, stepping away from the door and slightly towards her, causing Olivia to take a breath. She found it harder to breathe when he was around. "Ms. Pope," he said, his voice deep and smooth as silk. "Hello Wayne, Kayla," he added, nodding to the children at her side.

"We're just heading back to class, right guys?" Olivia said cheerfully. The children nodded and Kayla reached for Olivia's hand. Olivia smiled down at her and then looked up at Dr. Grant. He stepped to the side to allow them to pass.

"Ms. Pope," Dr. Grant said as she was passing directly beside him.

She turned her head, her eyes connecting with his chest first before flying up to his face, tracing his strong jaw line around and up to his forehead, wanting to touch him and wondering what was happening to her. Flustered, she answered him, "Yes?"

"Could you come to my office after school ends today?" he said it in a perfectly normal voice, but to Olivia it sounded like music. She smiled at him.

"Of course," she replied.

* * *

Smiling as he headed in the opposite direction from Olivia, Fitz found himself replaying her interaction with Kayla over in his mind. She was really good with children, he realized. Olivia hadn't known he was watching her and she had been so naturally kind and sweet with Kayla, one of the youngest students in his school. He couldn't help but feel that Olivia was amazing, and he barely knew her. He wanted get to know her better.

Fitz entered the high school wing of the school, wanting to spend a bit of time in those classrooms, as he'd spent most of his morning in the younger aged classes. Plus, he hoped that Olivia was on her way to the high school wing as well. As he approached the closest classroom in the hall, he realized that two of the male high school teachers, Jake Ballard and Harrison Wright, were standing inside the open doorway and he could clearly hear their conversation.

"That girl is hot," Harrison was saying. "I think I'm gonna ask her out, man."

"Not if I get to her first," Jake replied. "She has some amazing body," he continued, before Fitz stepped into the doorway, allowing the other men to see him.

Trying to keep his expression neutral, he addressed them. "Gentlemen. Shouldn't you be with your students?" He hoped he sounded calm, though his heart was racing with anger.

"Sorry, Sir," Jake said quickly, "I left the class with Abby for a minute." He moved past Fitz on his way back to his classroom.

Fitz turned to Harrison with a raised eyebrow.

"My kids are working independently right now," he said, gesturing into his classroom where 7 high-schoolers sat pretending to read out of science text books.

"I'd prefer if you stay with them, even if they are working on their own," Fitz said.

"Yes, Sir," Harrison answered, turning on his heel and returning to his desk at the front of his classroom.

Fitz shook his head. He knew he had no right to get angry at his teachers. Harrison and Jake had every right to be attracted to Olivia and he knew both could be worthy of Olivia's attention. However, he found himself not only angry, but outraged at the thought of either of them approaching her. He was going to have to make his move, and quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm so excited that people are following my story! It means so much to me. Thanks for the reviews too! Although Jake and Mellie are in this story, you should trust that Olitz is it, because they are certainly it for me. I just want to build their relationship as the story goes. I hope you continue to enjoy.**

Mellie Blake was sitting at her secretarial desk outside Fitz Grant's office waiting for him to return from his jaunt around the school. She wasn't much amused with him not being in his office throughout the day, as it meant she had to do more when it came to taking phone messages and the like. She was inspecting her newly done manicure when Fitz finally returned to the office. He glanced at her, throwing her a quick smile that didn't meet his eyes, and said, "I need to make a quick phone call, but when Olivia Pope comes in, just send her straight into my office." He walked past Mellie, into his office, and shut the door. Mellie rolled her eyes.

In her opinion, Fitz was a player. Mellie was sure that she wouldn't appreciate this Olivia Pope person Fitz was so intent on seeing. Actually, Mellie detested most women who wanted to spend time with Fitz, although of course, as his secretary, most of the women she saw him with were there for work related purposes. However, she wanted all of Fitz's attentions for herself. Noting that it was 3 PM, Mellie began gathering her things to leave for the day. Nothing like a job at a school for great hours, she thought for the millionth time. She bent to retrieve her purse from her lower desk drawer, and when she sat up again, she saw a woman enter the office.

"Hi," the woman said cheerfully. "I'm Olivia Pope and Dr. Grant asked me to meet him in his office after school."

Mellie squinted at Olivia for a second, taking in the other woman's dark brown silky hair and deep brown eyes. She had high cheekbones, perfect eyebrows, and absolutely gorgeous lips. In another life, Mellie would want Olivia as a friend. Or maybe she would want to be Olivia. She sighed. "Have a seat," she said, gesturing towards a row of chairs across from her desk. "Dr. Grant will be right with you."

Olivia smiled and sat, and Mellie picked up her phone, grinning to herself wickedly. Five minutes later, Fitz poked his head out of his office. "Mellie," he said, looking at her, but failing to look towards Olivia to his right. "Has Olivia come in yet?"

Mellie gave Fitz her best smile. "I'm so sorry, Dr. Grant, you said you wanted to make a phone call before seeing her, didn't you?"

"No, I told you to send her in!" Fitz said with frustration in his voice, as he stepped fully out of his doorway and noticed Olivia, who was now standing by the row of chairs. Mellie watched as his face immediately brightened. "Ms. Pope, please come in," he said, holding out his arm towards her.

Olivia smiled at Mellie and then at Fitz, entering his office gracefully. Fitz turned to follow her inside, glaring at Mellie as he pulled the door closed behind them.

* * *

Olivia glanced around his office as she took a seat beside his desk. Dr. Grant's bookshelves were full of books on child psychology, education, and family therapy, which made her smile, as she had many of the same books in her own library. In the middle of the two tall bookshelves hung a sign reading "Children's Center for Educational and Behavioral Excellence," which was the full name of the school. However, Olivia knew that everyone just called it The Center.

Returning her eyes to Dr. Grant, who now sat across from her behind his desk, Olivia realized he had been watching her.

"Ms. Pope," he began. "I really enjoyed watching you work with the children today. You can tell you really understand kids."

Olivia smiled. "Thank you," she said softly. "It was great to see you in the classrooms with the kids too."

He nodded. "Actually, it was nice to get in there," he agreed. "I'd been avoiding it for too long." Olivia wondered why he'd been avoiding the children, when from what it seemed, he actually really enjoyed being with them, but she didn't think it was her place to ask him.

"So, tell me something," Dr. Grant said.

Olivia nodded, waiting for him to go on.

"Tell me something about you, I mean," Dr. Grant clarified.

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "What would you like to know, Sir?" she asked.

He smiled, and she noticed the way his eyes crinkled and lit up as he did so. "What would you tell me if this was a job interview?" he asked. "I mean, Cyrus brought you in here on his own. Normally the school principal gets to interview new employees, but I didn't get to do that with you. So tell me something about yourself."

Olivia could do that, no problem. "Well, I graduated from UPenn with a joint law / social work degree," she began. "I was considering going into family law, adoptions mostly. My first job out of school was with the state, and I realized how many children actually need help before they can be adopted. I just felt like I should help as many children as possible."

Dr. Grant was nodding as she spoke. "And how did you become a consultant for schools like this one?" he asked.

"Actually," Olivia answered, "I haven't spent much time in a school like this one before." She smiled at his surprised look. "I've mainly consulted in group homes prior to this," she explained. "I became a consultant because some of my contacts from the state wanted me to continue working with them after the state was withdrawing services."

"Ah," Dr. Grant said. "And children? Do you have any of your own?"

Olivia felt herself blushing. "No," she replied.

"Husband?" he asked. She felt her face growing hotter, and she shook her head no again. "Siblings?" he continued, regarding her curiously.

"No, I'm an only child," she said.

"I am too," Dr. Grant told her, and she was surprised that he was sharing something about himself in this supposed interview. "No wife or children either," he added, smiling. "Oh don't look so surprised," he laughed, and she quickly tried to cover her surprised look with a smile, but she couldn't help wondering how such an attractive man hadn't yet been snatched up. "I've had the opportunity, of course," he told her. She stared at him, wondering why he was telling her this. "I just didn't want to be a coward and marry for the wrong reasons. I'm waiting for the right person to show up." He looked at her and she felt the air shift. His gaze was intense. After a brief pause, he smiled again. "Any hobbies?" he asked her.

Olivia was happy to move to a safer topic. "I like to read," she offered. "And I like to keep up with politics." Olivia rarely missed a broadcast of the nightly news for this reason. "I also run," she added, wondering if Dr. Grant was a runner and finding herself imagining what his body would look like in running shorts and a t-shirt.

As if he knew what she was thinking, he said, "I hate running. But I do like playing basketball." Basketball shorts would work too, Olivia thought, hoping he couldn't actually read her mind, and hoping she wasn't obviously blushing again. "So," he interrupted her thoughts. "Do you have any questions for me about the school or the staff, or the kids?"

"Yes, actually, I was hoping we could go over some of the procedures for the quiet room," Olivia replied. She shared her thoughts with Dr. Grant regarding what she had observed and how she thought things could improve and she appreciated his agreement with her suggestions.

"Maybe you could give a staff training," he suggested after she had outlined her plan for improvements. "You definitely seem to know what you're talking about."

Olivia agreed, although she wasn't so much of a fan of speaking in front of groups. After a few more minutes of strategizing, it seemed about time to end their meeting. Although if Olivia was honest with herself, she had quite enjoyed talking to him. As she stood and offered a quick "Have a good night, Dr. Grant," he stood as well, rounding his desk and offering her his hand to shake.

"Please, call me Fitz," he said, enclosing her hand in his. Olivia felt sparks going off inside of her, whether from the tone of his voice or the touch of his hand, she wasn't completely sure.

"Fitz," she breathed. Then she smiled. "Is that short for Fitzherbert or something?"

"Fitzgerald," he said with a laugh. "I know, it's kind of awful. I'm the third though, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third." He was still holding onto her hand, his thumb was now moving gently against her wrist.

She stared at him for a beat longer, then withdrew her hand. "See you tomorrow, Fitz," she said, only feeling slightly inappropriate for using his first name. She turned and left his office, passing Mellie on her way out. She caught the suspicious look Mellie threw at her and tried to ignore it – she hadn't done anything wrong, after all.

* * *

Fitz stood in his office for a minute after she'd left. He was a little shocked at what the feel of Olivia's hand in his had done to him, and it had only been a handshake for God's sake, not a hand in hand walk at sunset! But her skin had felt so soft under his thumb and he imagined running his thumbs – and his fingers too – along her face, arms, legs, back, front…well anywhere she'd let him. He shook his head at himself as he grabbed his briefcase and shut his office light.

He was surprised to see his secretary Mellie still at her desk. He had thought she preferred to leave as soon as school was over. With a sinking sensation, he realized Mellie must have been waiting for him. He had taken the woman for drinks twice and dinner once and ever since she had been after him for more. Fitz wasn't interested though, and Mellie didn't seem to understand that the last thing he wanted was a relationship with his secretary.

Mellie jumped to her feet upon seeing him, walking towards him. "Heading out, Fitz?" she inquired in a low voice which she must have thought was sexy.

Pushing his lips together in a slight grimace, he barely refrained from rolling his eyes and instead nodded. "Have a good night, Mellie," he said, heading out of the office and then out the front doors of the school. He stifled a groan as he saw Mellie right beside him as they walked towards the parking lot. Of course, his legs were longer than hers, and she had to speed walk to keep up with him. He actually found this funny, in an annoying sort of way. "See you tomorrow, Mellie," he said gruffly, as he climbed into his car and slammed the door.

Pulling out of the parking lot, his thoughts returned to Olivia. Images of her working with the children played in his head. The genuine affection she showed them was inspiring to him, so he was sure it would help the staff members. He should have asked her which classroom she planned to start in tomorrow so he could join her there. He hadn't gotten up the nerve to ask her for her phone number, much less to request time with her outside of work, and he was not normally so shy with women. He was happy that he had gotten to speak with her for the short time in his office, of course, but he was craving more. Much more.


	3. Chapter 3

Olivia awoke with Fitz's name on her lips. She stretched against her dark grey satin sheets, thinking of his hand on hers the day before. He had large, strong hands. Olivia tended to become shy around men, and truth be told, she didn't have many women friends either, but there was something about Fitz that put her at ease. It wasn't that Olivia hadn't dated or been with men before – she had – but for some reason, the effect Fitz was having on her was different than anything she had experienced before.

Although he did seem to love the children at the school, she knew he'd been reluctant to get into the classrooms with them, and she was glad he was now doing so with her. He definitely had something she could work with.

On the other hand, Olivia was nervous about working with the teachers in the high school wing of the school. She knew that the longer a child had been through what these kids had gone through, the harder they were to work with. While she could bond easily with younger kids like Kayla by empathizing and understanding, a high school student was a lot less likely to respond to her similarly. And because the teachers had been working with these students day in and day out, she expected them to be burnt out and therefore less willing to follow her advice than perhaps the teachers of the elementary students would be.

For similar reasons, Olivia was also nervous about her staff training which she and Fitz had scheduled for the following week's staff meeting. She hoped that by then the teachers would have more trust in her and would be open to listening to her, but at this point she was still an outsider and therefore unsure. She got out of bed and showered and dressed quickly, as she wanted to look over a few of her sources on working with adolescents before she left for The Center.

Sitting with her tea and muffin, she remembered her conversation with Fitz, and something he had said popped out at her. Hobbies. Of course! She recalled working with a teenaged girl when she was just out of grad school. Week after week, Olivia had sat with her at her foster mother's dining room table in silence. As many times as she tried to get her to open up, there was just drawn out silence. Until Olivia had brought along some fashion magazines. Instead of sitting in silence, they both poured over the magazines. And slowly the talking began.

Olivia was sure she could get the teachers interacting with the students by sharing hobbies, whether it was running, or basketball, or a book club, or even planning a talent show. With better teacher-student bonding, it was likely that better behavior would follow. Olivia had a strong feeling that this kind of thing was not happening at the group homes either, and she was excited to speak to the staff at both school and the homes about her ideas. She also planned to meet with Abby Whelan, the school counselor who also covered for the teachers and helped out in the classrooms. Olivia hoped Abby would have additional insight and would be able to help Olivia get started on fixing some of the problems in the school.

* * *

Harrison Wright and Jake Ballard were standing in front of The Center waiting for the busses from the group homes to arrive when Harrison spotted Olivia coming from her car in the parking lot.

"Hey man, she's checking me out," Harrison laughed, nudging Jake and gesturing towards Olivia.

"No she's not, she's checking me out!" Jake replied, when in reality, neither could tell where Olivia's eyes were because they were hidden by her sunglasses. As they watched, they saw Abby exiting her car. Abby had parked a few spots ahead of Olivia, and Olivia had been looking at her.

"Damn it," Harrison said, "Abby's probably offering to make her cupcakes."

"I gotta learn how to bake, man," Jake said, laughing.

"Gentlemen," said another voice from behind the two teachers. They turned to see Fitz.

"Dr. Grant!" Harrison greeted. "Good morning."

Jake also offered a good morning as the three men watched Olivia and Abby approach. "Hello Ladies," Jake greeted them.

"Basketball!" Olivia said.

"Basketball?" Fitz replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. You have a basketball court out back, right?" Olivia asked.

"Of course, the kids run straight for it at recess time," Fitz answered.

"Ever play with them?" Olivia asked.

"We do," Harrison answered, motioning between himself and Jake.

"Great!" Olivia said with excitement in her voice. "That's a great way to bond with your students outside of the classroom."

"You playing too?" asked Jake.

Olivia laughed. "I'd probably get trampled!" she said, motioning to how much shorter she was than the men. "But we'll see you out there, right Abby?" she added, then turned and headed into school, with Abby following.

Harrison looked at Jake with a smirk on his face. "She wants to watch us play, man," he said.

Jake could only nod in agreement as Fitz cleared his throat and all three turned as the first bus from one of the group homes pulled up in front of them. "Let me," Fitz said, approaching the bus and greeting the children as they climbed down the steps and headed into the school. Some of the group home staff came to school with the children while others left after doing the overnight shift. The bus's arrival at school was like the nurses' shift change in a hospital. Harrison handed Fitz the clipboard they used to take notes on how the children had behaved overnight and whether anyone was having problems that morning, and smiled to himself as he watched the principal complete his morning job.

* * *

Olivia was in the grass with some of the 15 and 16 year old girls who were discussing whether they wanted to sing or dance if they were to put on a talent show, when one of the girls let out a loud whoop.

"Check that out!" Amanda Tanner said, standing up and swinging her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

Olivia followed her gaze and knew immediately what had attracted the girls' interest – Dr. Grant had just joined the group playing basketball. He wore his work clothes – khaki chino pants and a white button down shirt – but he had removed his tie and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his muscular forearms. Even being a good 50 yards away, Olivia could see how toned he was.

"Who you looking at, girl? Tommy? You know Billy wouldn't be happy," commented Kaitlyn, Amanda's best friend.

"No way!" Amanda laughed. "I'm looking at Fi— Dr. Grant! He's hot!" The girls burst into giggles and Olivia regarded them, ultimately deciding not to give them a lecture on talking about the principal in that way. "Come on, let's go watch!" Amanda shouted, heading off across the grass to the side of the basketball court. Olivia and the other girls followed behind.

The basketball game seemed to be going well, Olivia noted, as Jake and Harrison had teamed up with some of their students for a class versus class match. Fitz had joined onto Harrison's team. The sound of male voices shouting to one another and sneakers scraping on the pavement filled the air. The girls seemed to be enjoying cheering on their friends and Olivia smiled, happy to see the students happy.

She definitely noticed the boys checking out the girls on the sidelines and trying to show off their moves for their audience but she was a little unnerved to see the teachers glancing at the girls as well. However, she realized that Harrison and Jake were making eye contact with her, not with the students, and she relaxed, before she realized she didn't quite like that either. Fitz was doing a better job of keeping his eyes on the game, although Olivia was staring at him and his gorgeously curly hair, now even more curly due to sweat, when he finally met her eyes. She felt the thrill go through her that came from looking at his eyes or being in his proximity or thinking of him and at that moment Jake slammed into Fitz, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground. There was a collective gasp from the players and the onlookers and Olivia jumped to her feet, trying to decide if she should run to Fitz and make sure he was okay.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Fitz was saying, as he shook off Jake's attempt to help him up and pulled himself to his feet. He glanced in Olivia's direction quickly before turning and walking back into the school.

* * *

Fitz walked through the main office, passing Mellie at her desk, avoiding Cyrus's office to his left, and entering his own office, all the while ignoring the ache coming from where he'd hit the ground. He was more embarrassed than hurt, but he was sure he had a scraped up lower back. He untucked his shirt, twisting his body to get a glimpse at himself. He dropped his shirt back down at the sound of a quiet knock at the door.

"Come in," he said gruffly. The door opened and he was surprised to see Olivia, as he had been expecting Jake with more apologies. He just stared at her as she entered and closed the door behind her.

Her smile was gentle and he could see the concern in her eyes as she regarded him. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah. I was just trying to see how badly scraped I am." He pointed helplessly at his back. In the next second she had approached him and moved behind him, lifting his shirt and laying gentle fingers on his back. He forgot to breathe.

"It looks okay," she said from behind him. "Does it hurt?"

"It stings a bit," he said softly, looking over his shoulder into her beautiful brown eyes. "Livvie…" he trailed off, realizing he'd used a nickname he'd created for her in his head.

As if suddenly realizing what she was doing, she removed her fingers from his back. He turned to fully face her and caught her hand in his. They stared at each other in silence for a moment. "Fitz," she whispered. "I can't…we can't…" she stuttered.

"We can't what?" he questioned.

"It's just, I'm working for you. I can't be involved with you while I'm working here. It wouldn't be appropriate."

"And you're never inappropriate?" he asked, letting go of her hand and bringing his hand to the side of her face. Her eyelids fluttered and he almost groaned from the feeling of her skin. But then she shook her head and took a step backwards.

"I'm only here until things are going better for you and the rest of the staff," she said. "After that…" She moved backwards again, her eyes looking like a promise, and he sighed.

"You're right," he said, trying not to choke on the words. "I know you're right. I just…I really want to get to know you. Outside of work, I mean." In his head, he'd said more. He'd told her how much he wanted her.

Olivia didn't answer, but he could feel something between them. Something was there, and he hoped beyond hope that she could feel it too.

At that moment, the door opened and Jake poked his head in. "Excuse me, Dr. Grant," he said. Fitz looked at him, wondering why he hadn't bothered to knock. He was suddenly relieved about the few steps Olivia had taken from him. He resisted the urge to quickly tuck in his shirt, knowing this would only draw attention to the fact that he and Olivia had been having a moment.

"Yes, Mr. Ballard?" Fitz acknowledged him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Jake said, glancing at Olivia, "but there's a situation."

"What situation?" Fitz sighed. Wasn't there always a situation?

"It's Abby, Sir. Kaitlyn just punched her in the face."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thanks so much to everyone for reading! I'm happy this chapter turned out a bit longer than the last two - I was surprised when I was able to write conversation that seemed to flow. I have plot ideas for this story, I'm just not sure how I'm going to get there! Also, I definitely don't want Olivia to be wishy-washy like she is on the show, telling Fitz one thing and then doing another, but I also want them to have time to get to know each other before they rush into things - they only met a few days ago right now. But they will definitely get there!**

* * *

"Kaitlyn did what?!" Fitz shouted, rushing out of the office, his untucked shirt flying after him. Jake and Olivia looked at each other and then hurriedly followed him.

"Where is she?" Fitz questioned Jake over his shoulder as he moved down the hallway at a fast pace.

"Kaitlyn?" Jake replied. "She's in my classroom with Tom." Tom was one of the staff from the group home where the teenaged boys lived.

"No, Abby!" Fitz exclaimed. "Where's Abby?"

Olivia was touched that Fitz was most concerned about Abby, but she felt it was important that he immediately confront Kaitlyn. Knowing this could be a test for him, she spoke up. "Fitz!" He turned to look at her. "You need to deal with Kaitlyn. I'll take care of Abby." His eyes briefly closed and then he nodded, turning back and heading to Jake's classroom.

"I think Abby's in the bathroom," Jake said, before he followed Fitz.

Olivia opened the door to the girls' bathroom and saw Abby leaning over the sink, a paper towel pressed to her face. Approaching the tall redhead, Olivia placed her hand on her arm. "What happened?" Olivia asked.

Abby sighed. "I don't even know. I was just listening to Amanda and Kaitlyn discussing the game and how Jake knocked over Dr. Grant and they were laughing about it but then Amanda got upset about something and Kaitlyn told her to shut up and then I got involved."

"And then she punched you?"

"Well, it was more of a slap," Abby smiled, removing the paper towel from her cheek and revealing a red, hand shaped mark.

Olivia was relieved – an open palmed slap would surely do less damage than a punch could have. "Still though," Olivia said. "That takes a lot of guts to hit a teacher."

"It's happened before and it will happen again," Abby said, shaking her head.

Olivia raised an eyebrow. She had worked with kids before, but not kids who had no respect for their teachers. Maybe encouraging teacher-student bonding wasn't the right idea after all. The kids couldn't start regarding the staff like their peers. Not that it would have been okay if Kaitlyn had slapped Amanda…Olivia thought back to her conversation with Fitz. She had told him that she would only be there long enough to get things back on track, but with issues continuously arising it seemed that she had a lot to work on.

"I sent Fitz in there to talk to Kaitlyn," she told Abby. "Do you think he'll handle it okay?"

"Fitz?" Abby asked with a smirk. Olivia cleared her throat and blushed, which didn't escape Abby's notice. "You like him!" she blurted. When Olivia didn't reply, Abby just nodded. "I know he's hot," she said. "It's kind of a thing."

"A thing?"

"Yeah, the girls are constantly discussing his muscles and his hair. Not that I blame them. It's why he's a bit stand-offish with the students," Abby explained.

So that was the reason Fitz was nervous about getting close with the students. He must feel uncomfortable knowing that most of the female population of his school – kids and adults alike – were attracted to him. And then Olivia felt guilty for her own ogling. Only, it wasn't just that he was attractive physically. When she looked into his eyes she saw more than just good looks. She saw someone with a good heart, a caring nature, and intelligence. She saw warmth and emotion. She wanted to see more.

Abby was regarding Olivia with curiosity. "Don't worry, he doesn't use his good looks to his advantage," she said, smirking again. "And he'll be fine with Kaitlyn. There are procedures for this kind of thing."

"There are?" Olivia was happy to hear this as it was one less thing she'd have to worry about.

"Sure, incident reports, a one or two day suspension, extra counseling with me," Abby replied.

Olivia laughed. "Just what you want to do, right?"

"Yeah," Abby agreed with a grin. "Really, I'm okay though. We should get in there." Olivia agreed, following Abby out of the bathroom. "Oh hey," Abby said suddenly, stopping so suddenly that Olivia almost crashed into her. "Quinn and I are going out for drinks after work, you should come with us."

Olivia hesitated for a moment, before realizing that she would actually enjoy spending more time with Abby, and getting to know Quinn as well. "Sure," she said, flashing Abby a smile.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Fitz was coming out of his office with his gym bag over his shoulder, when he spotted Olivia looking over a few papers by the mailboxes in the main office. He approached her with a smile.

"Hey, Liv," he said. She looked up and smiled at him and his heart beat picked up in his chest as it had every time she directed her beautiful smile his way. "I just wanted to thank you for earlier," he said.

"Thank me?" she replied, and he felt himself blushing.

"I mean for checking up on me after the basketball game. And for making me deal with Kaitlyn. I mean, just because I know every students' name in this school doesn't mean they're all going to respect me. But actually disciplining them will probably help with that."

Olivia laughed a little, before Cyrus, who had exited his office and snuck up behind them interrupted. "Oh Fitz," he said with a snicker. "You think it's so great that you know all the kids' names here. It's not that hard, there's only 40 of them! What if you were a principal of a real school?"

Fitz rolled his eyes. "Whatever Cyrus," he teased. "You just don't want to admit you can't remember anyone's name!"

Olivia laughed a little and added, "You know he's right Cyrus. It took you like a year to stop calling me Alyssa."

"Alright, alright, you don't have to gang up on me," Cyrus laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow." He turned and headed out.

Fitz followed Cyrus with his eyes and once he was sure he was out of earshot, he turned back to Olivia. "What are your plans right now?" he asked in a voice he hoped was not too anxious or hopeful. Olivia's eyes shot to his and he shrugged at her. "I know you want to wait till you don't work here anymore, but it can't hurt to hang out together, can it?" Obviously, he knew she wanted to avoid him and his forwardness might not be welcomed, but he couldn't help it.

Thankfully, she smiled. "Actually, I'm meeting Abby and Quinn for drinks. You should come! We can talk about something other than students hitting their teachers."

Fitz wondered if Abby and Quinn would mind. He was the principal after all. "Um, sure," he found himself agreeing. "I'll just head home and change and meet you ladies there."

Olivia's smile grew wider. "Actually, I'm not sure where we're going. Give me your phone."

"What?" he questioned.

"I'll put my number in and you can text me and I'll tell you where we are," she explained, reaching her hand out for his phone. He handed it over. When she was finished, he couldn't help but let his hand touch hers as she handed his phone back. He held her gaze and smiled. "See you later," she said, turning back to the papers in front of her.

He nodded and headed to his car, hoping he was doing the right thing. He certainly didn't want to push, but having drinks with Olivia Pope sounded like just the thing to turn this bad day into a good one.

* * *

Olivia, Abby, and Quinn were having margaritas at the bar of Jose Tejas, a Mexican restaurant that had a lot of quirk and atmosphere. Abby was describing the various high school girls and their personalities, when Olivia felt her phone vibrate. Looking at it, she blushed, and said, "It's Fitz. I hope you don't mind, but I asked him if he wanted to get drinks with us."

Quinn and Abby both laughed as Olivia started to text Fitz back letting him know where they were. "You seriously invited the principal out for drinks?" Abby said with a snort.

"What? He had a kind of bad day and I just thought…"

"Oh man, you do have a thing for him!" Abby blurted.

"I do not have a 'thing' for him!" Olivia protested. "I just find him…"

"We know, we know," Quinn interrupted, rolling her eyes. "You find him attractive. Those eyes, that hair," she said in a high-pitched voice, trying to imitate the students.

Olivia couldn't help but laugh along with them. "Of course he's attractive," Olivia said, although in her head she was thinking he was more than attractive, he was intoxicating. "It's not that though. He just seemed a little sad, and lonely. And it's not like a date if you two are here too."

"A date?" Abby blurted. "Were you thinking of asking him on a date?"

"No!" Olivia answered, maybe a little too quickly. "I can't date him, he's my boss."

"That didn't stop Mellie," Quinn said under her breath.

"Fitz dated Mellie?" Olivia said, surprised.

"I heard they went out once or twice," Quinn answered. "Mellie thirsts for him."

"So does everyone," Abby added and there it was again – Olivia felt guilty for joining the throngs that admired Fitz Grant.

"We should stop discussing him, he'll be here soon," she mumbled, reading another text from him saying he was on his way.

"Okay," Quinn agreed. "What do you think of Jake?"

Olivia laughed. "He seems good with the kids," she commented, "but what was with him pushing Fitz over before?"

"I think it was an accident," Abby said, taking a sip of her drink. "Fitz wasn't paying attention to the game and he looked like he just lost his balance."

"I don't know," Olivia said thoughtfully. "It was a kind of hard shove to be an accident. It's not like Fitz isn't in good enough shape to hold his own."

"I thought we weren't talking about him anymore!" laughed Abby, and Olivia blushed again. He really was getting in her head. Just then, Abby nudged her. "Look," she whispered, with a wave of her hand towards the door.

Fitz was standing near the restaurant hostess, his eyes roaming the room, obviously looking for them. He had changed into dark colored jeans that fit his legs just right, and a tight camel colored sweater over a white t-shirt. The sweater sleeves were pushed up and he had his hand in his pocket. He looked amazing. Olivia was still wearing her work clothes and she suddenly felt awkward. Abby was pushing her arm, trying to get her to go to Fitz and bring him over, but Fitz finally turned in the direction of the bar and spotted them. When he started to walk towards them, Olivia actually gasped. Abby gripped her arm and Olivia tore her gaze away. "Control yourself," Abby whispered.

A second later, Fitz was standing beside them with a crooked smile on his face. "Hello," he said. "I hope you don't mind me crashing your ladies' night." This was directed towards Abby and Quinn, but Olivia was the one to respond.

"Please, it's fine," she said. "Do you think we should get a table?"

"Actually," Abby said, suddenly standing up. "I think I'm gonna head out. Quinn?" She gave Quinn a rather obvious look and Quinn jumped to her feet as well.

"Um, yeah," Quinn stuttered. "I need to get home too. See you tomorrow, Dr. Grant. Olivia."

Abby and Quinn walked away, leaving Olivia staring after them in a bit of a shock. Hadn't she just told them she didn't want to be on a date with Fitz? And now it looked like their leaving had been her idea. She looked at Fitz to see his reaction. He was smiling.

"Well, I guess I scared them away," he said, taking Abby's vacated seat beside Olivia. He was facing towards her and the barstools were close together, so with Fitz's legs being so long, his knees were nearly touching hers.

"God, I'm sorry," Olivia blurted. "I really don't know what got into them."

"I do," Fitz said smoothly. "No one wants to hang out with the principal." He looked away for a second and Olivia couldn't help but reach out for him. She placed her hand on his wrist and he turned back to her with a half-smile.

"I'm happy to hang out with you," she said and then she laughed as his face lit up like a little boy who had been handed a new toy.

"So how about getting that table?" he suggested, standing up and making a sort of half bow towards her. She laughed again, realizing that sitting down with him for a drink or for dinner was pretty much just what she'd told him she didn't want to do, but finding that she no longer cared.

Olivia followed Fitz, who followed the restaurant hostess to the table and the hostess put down a basket of chips and salsa for them to share. Fitz was quiet for a bit as Olivia ate a few chips and sipped on her drink. Olivia was about to tell him that she liked his sweater, when he said, "So, today was interesting, don't you think?"

She laughed and nodded. "Interesting might not be the right word."

"What word would you use?" he asked.

"I'd probably go with intense," she said, not sure if she was referring to their moment in his office or to the situation with Kaitlyn.

He laughed a little. "Intense," he agreed. And then there was more staring.

The waitress arrived to take their orders and they tore their gazes apart. Olivia ordered fish tacos and Fitz chose enchiladas. They fell into an easy conversation while they waited for their food, talking about books they both enjoyed, a bit about child psychology, and food. It turned out that they both liked to try new things in restaurants and when their food arrived, they agreed to swap a bit of each other's food so that they each could try each entrée. Olivia watched him enjoying the fish tacos and found herself imagining what it would be like to feed him from her plate. She watched his mouth and thought about his lips on her fingers. Actually she wanted his lips on other parts of her body.

As they finished their food, Fitz looked at her and said, "Let me ask you something." She nodded, and he continued. "How long do you think you'll be working with us at The Center?"

Olivia smiled, knowing exactly why he was asking, and wondering if it mattered, now that they had officially had dinner together. "As I see it, there are two options," she said. "We can wait until next week and see how the training goes and reassess whether you still need me around to continue your improvements. I mean, you and Cyrus and Abby can certainly work with the staff on how they interact with the kids. Or, I can stick around as an extra person to be there when crises occur – because they will occur – and actually become a part of your staff."

Fitz looked thoughtful. "Well, firstly I agree we can see how things are next week and then decide, but as of right now I definitely think having you around is a huge benefit. For the school, I mean. And for me. But what about what you said earlier?" he asked.

She sighed. "Look, I meant what I said about it being inappropriate for us to…well, for us to be together. But this has really been fun. And maybe we can see how things go with us too."

"You feel it though, right?" Fitz asked, reaching his hand out and touching her cheek. Her hand went on top of his and she sighed again.

"I do," she said, knowing exactly what he was referring to. There was a charged electricity between them that she couldn't deny. They stared at each other for a beat longer and then Olivia gently removed Fitz's hand from her face and stood, picking up the bill the waitress had left on the table.

"Hey, I got that," Fitz protested, reaching for the slip.

"It's okay, I invited you! I'll pay. This time," she added with a smile.

He followed her out of the restaurant and over to her car. "Do you have far to drive?" he asked.

"No, not too far," she smiled at him, again touched by his caring ways.

"Can I call you when I get home?" he asked, almost shyly, and Olivia blushed.

"I'd like that," she said. She was about to turn and get into her car, when Fitz surprised her by planting a quick kiss to her forehead.

"Bye, Livvie," he said, taking a few backwards steps.

"Bye, Fitz," she replied, and she watched him walk away, his hands in his pockets again.

She sat in her car for a few minutes, replaying their conversation in her head. He was sweet, she thought. She couldn't help but feel tired of always being the good girl and not going after what she wanted. And after their dinner together, she was quite sure that she wanted Fitz.


	5. Chapter 5

"What was your worst experience as a child?" Fitz asked in her ear, his voice deep and sexy. Olivia snuggled back against her pillows and switched her phone from her right ear to her left. She and Fitz had been speaking on the phone every night since their dinner and were meanwhile remaining professional at work.

"My worst experience?" she laughed. "Why wouldn't you ask about my best experience?"

"I want to know that too Livvie," Fitz said. "It's just…the kids we work with, they've been through so much. I always feel so helpless, knowing that our worst experiences could be better than their best experiences."

Olivia was silent for a moment, considering how right Fitz was. Her life hadn't been so hard, relatively. "My mom died when I was 12," she admitted. When Fitz didn't reply immediately, she continued. "It was really hard for my father and he sent me away to boarding school. I stayed in boarding school until college, and I never lived with my father again after that."

"I'm sorry, Livvie," Fitz said. "I didn't realize. You actually did have a similar experience to the kids we work with."

"No I didn't!" Olivia couldn't help the biting laugh that escaped her. "My boarding school was nothing like a group home."

"Still," Fitz replied. "Living apart from your parents at a young age is hard."

"It was hard," Olivia agreed. "I desperately missed my mom. I still do, actually. But I still don't think it's the same." They were both silent for a moment. "What about you?" Olivia asked, ready to turn the conversation back to him and away from herself.

"My mom died too," he said.

"Really?" Olivia was surprised because she already knew that she and Fitz were both only children, but she didn't know that they had this in common as well. Then she quickly added, "I'm so sorry."

He sighed. "My mom died when I was 16," he said. "I did live with my father after that, but we barely talk now. He's not really a nice man."

"Wow," Olivia said. "Does that have anything to do with why you went into child psychology?"

"It has everything to do with it," Fitz replied. "I was lucky. I had my mom for a good 16 years and I was never physically hurt by my parents."

The fact that he specified that he'd never been hurt physically told Olivia something. "Emotional hurt is just as bad," she said quietly.

"Of course," he agreed. "But once I realized how good I had it compared to so many children out there…I just had to find a career in helping them."

Olivia didn't automatically reply, but she was once again thinking about how sweet and kind Fitz really was. There were very few men who found themselves involved in the social work field and even fewer who worked in foster care, at least directly with the children. The ones who did work with foster children were usually there because of the deep sensitivity and goodness in their hearts. At least she was sure that was why Fitz was there.

"Okay, now tell me about your best childhood experience," Fitz said.

Olivia laughed. "Oh gosh, let me think," she said. "You know, I don't really have one specific best experience. I just remember being happiest in the summer and I loved the days when I just rode my bike around the neighborhood for hours."

"Ah, the memories of summer," Fitz said, and Olivia giggled.

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked.

"Nope," he replied, but she could hear the smile in his voice. "I love summer time too," he said softly. "Do you like the beach?"

"Sure," she answered. "But the beaches here aren't so amazing."

"Actually, some of them are," he told her.

"In New Jersey?" she asked, laughing. She had been to plenty of beautiful beaches because when she had traveled over breaks in college she made sure to travel to warm places. But none of those beaches had been in New Jersey, where she currently lived.

"Alright, don't believe me," he joked. "But if you want me to show you one day, let me know."

There was a comfortable silence after that and then they said goodnight.

* * *

Fitz spent a good amount of time over the weekend thinking of Olivia when he wasn't on the phone with her. He had desperately wanted to invite her over, or at least take her out somewhere, but he was still trying to keep things casual while she was working with him. He was still unsure what would happen at the end of her second week at the school. On the one hand, he didn't want to be her boss because he wanted to be with her. On the other hand, he felt like she was an amazing addition to his staff.

Now, he was sitting in his weekly staff meeting, watching Olivia give the staff training she had been working on for the past week. She had started out by referencing their conversation about childhood memories, saying, "I was speaking with Dr. Grant about childhood and he said something that resonated with me. He said that our worst childhood memories could be better than our students' best childhood memories. I know we all work with these children for a reason, and I think it's important to remember those reasons, especially when we're having a bad day." Fitz was amused that she was quoting him, but also very touched.

She went on to give a presentation on bonding with students, firm but loving discipline, and healthy expressions of anger, and Fitz was impressed by her ability to not only teach, but to make it interesting. Watching her speak, he found her even more beautiful than he had previously. He was also proud of her, knowing she had been nervous about addressing the staff. He was happy that they were all listening to her as intently as he was.

When he called her that night, he was as open with his praise as he could be without being overwhelming – at least that was his hope. He got a special thrill from hearing Olivia giggling at his compliments and then he found himself at a loss for words.

"What's wrong?" her sweet voice said in his ear.

"Nothing," he told her. Nothing was wrong, but he was feeling a bit sad.

"You sound sad," she said, and this made him smile, knowing she could read his moods after they'd only known each other such a short time.

"I don't know," he sighed. "I'm still trying to come to a decision about us. Honestly, I really want you working at The Center."

"I really like working there," she said. "But I'm not magical, you know. Just my being there isn't going to make everything perfect. I usually work with group homes for about two weeks and then I just come in once in awhile to make sure things are going well."

"Okay."

"Okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Let's do that. Friday can be your last day and Friday night I'll take you out on a real date."

"Okay," she replied.

"Okay?" he couldn't help but feel surprised that she was agreeing with him.

"Yeah," she said, and he smiled.

* * *

On Wednesday, Olivia sat in Fitz's office eating a sandwich while he worked on a grant proposal for the school. She was smiling because she felt good about the work she had done and the students' behavioral improvement. There were less incident reports being written and less total time spent in the quiet room. She had visited the room again that morning and was glad to see Huck keeping his interactions with the kids quiet and non-confrontational. She thought the room was becoming the safe space it had been meant to be.

Fitz glanced up at her and grinned. "You look happy," he commented.

"I am," she replied. "And I was thinking about the beach." She hadn't been thinking about the beach at that moment, but she had been ever since he'd mentioned it to her. "When can you show me this amazing New Jersey beach?" she asked.

Fitz got up and rounded his desk, approaching Olivia. When she made no effort to jump out of her chair and move away from him, he stood directly in front of her, leaning his back onto his desk. "I would love to show you my beachy secrets, Livvie," he said teasingly. "But first you have to promise you won't tell anyone."

Olivia laughed, feeling herself falling into Fitz's deep blue eyes, even though she was sitting and he was standing. "I'm good at keeping secrets, Dr. Grant," she said.

"Can you keep this one?" Fitz asked, and she raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to go on. Instead, he slowly lowered himself towards her. His hands moved to the arms of the chair she was sitting in. She watched his eyes as they darkened with desire and her breath hitched as he came closer to her. Turning his head slightly, he ever so gently brushed his lips over hers. He drew back just as slowly as he had approached, and Olivia wanted nothing more than to grab the back of his curly hair, pull him to her, and kiss him with all of her might. Instead, she just smiled.

The kiss hadn't felt like a secret, it had felt like a promise.

* * *

On Thursday, it rained. Fitz should have taken the weather as a sign. He should have realized that the gentle but steady rain turning into a huge storm was meaningful. But he just concentrated his thoughts on his plans for the following evening with Olivia and ignored the weather.

Fitz was all over the school, in just about every classroom, joining in a high school class discussion about politics and reading on the floor with the younger kids. He was looking for Olivia everywhere, but she must have been everywhere he was not.

Fitz felt good. He felt like he was getting better at being the principal and doing things like writing grants, while also working directly with the students. And he had Olivia to thank for that. She hadn't really done anything other than give him confidence in himself, but it seemed to be working for him. When he had become the school principal, he had left a job as an advocate for children who had no one to support them. Luckily, the kids in his school had many people in their lives, and he had therefore taken a step back, allowing the support to come from group home staff, therapists, and teachers, rather than himself. He had missed his direct interactions with children.

The one population that Fitz was still unsure about was the high school girls. He knew his looks were a topic of conversation and he knew that he had been mentioned in the altercation that had led to Kaitlyn slapping Abby last week. He had read over that incident report more times than he cared to count, but he was still a little baffled by it. He was generally quite careful with the girls because he knew that many of them had been hurt by men before, especially men they had trusted. The last thing he wanted was to give any of the girls the wrong idea.

Maybe then, he should not have been so surprised by what happened next.

* * *

It was Friday and Mellie was at her desk, reading celebrity gossip from her work computer.

"I need to speak to Dr. Grant," a girl's voice spoke and Mellie looked up. Amanda Tanner stood in front of her, hands on her hips.

"Sure, he's in there," Mellie told the girl, waving her hand towards Fitz's office door and looking back down at the site.

Amanda entered Fitz's office and closed the door.

Five minutes later, Amanda exited, slamming the door behind her, and running from the office. Mellie looked after her, wondering what the rush was about. She shrugged her shoulders and forgot about it.

After another ten minutes, Olivia came hurrying into the office. She looked quite upset. She didn't acknowledge Mellie, but threw open the door to Fitz's office and cried, "Were you just alone in here with Amanda Tanner?"


	6. Chapter 6

Olivia was pacing Fitz's office in circles, although there was barely enough room for her to do so. All Fitz could do was watch her, his heart aching and his hands wringing together.

It had been five minutes since she had burst into his office, demanding to know if he had been alone with Amanda Tanner. "I didn't do anything!" he had responded to her first question.

"You better not have done anything!" Olivia had yelled. "How could you have been so careless, Fitz? You can't allow yourself to be alone with these girls. Now it's her word against yours!"

Fitz had slowly sunk into his desk chair, realizing that of course Olivia was right. Who would believe him when a hurt and upset young girl was accusing him of – "What exactly did she say happened?" he asked Olivia.

Amanda had come to his office asking to speak with him. He thought she was going to talk to him about the other girls in her class, or maybe ask him advice about boys. And the conversation had started out innocently. Amanda was involved with a boy named Billy, who had graduated from his school the previous year. He still resided in the boys' group home, and Amanda had asked Fitz if Billy was allowed to visit her at school. Fitz had hesitated, wondering if her request was appropriate. He had started to ask her how often she was able to see Billy, when Amanda suddenly changed the subject.

"You know you have beautiful eyes?" she'd said. He assumed the compliment was meant to butter him up and make him accept her request about Billy, so he merely smiled. "All the girls want to touch your hair," she continued. Then, "Can I touch your hair?" Fitz had stared at her in a slight state of shock. Before he could find the words to respond, Amanda had started to reach for him. He'd backed away. He'd caught her hand in his. He'd told her she needed to leave his office. Who knows how she had managed to turn his actions against him. He raked his hands through his hair, staring at Olivia as she answered his question.

"Fitz, I don't know if I can tell you what she said."

Fitz just stared.

"If I did," Olivia continued, "your word might not hold up to questioning. It's better if you tell your version of what happened without knowing hers."

Fitz felt himself getting weaker, paler, dizzier. "Do I need a lawyer?" he choked out.

As if suddenly realizing the state he was in, Olivia stepped in front of him and grabbed his hands. "I'm a lawyer," she said.

Fitz pulled his hands away. "But you don't believe me," he whispered.

Olivia stared at him. "Of course I believe you," she said. "I know you would never do anything to hurt these kids. I know you. But the world doesn't know you. The world is going to believe Amanda."

Fitz groaned. Of course people would believe the child over the adult, it was the natural thing to do.

"Fitz, kids rarely make these things up," Olivia told him.

His mouth opened, then closed. "I thought you said you believe me," he said, his throat barely allowing the words to pass.

"I believe you," she said again. "I'm saying someone else must have done something to Amanda. Her story didn't come out of nowhere."

"Did she say I hurt her?" Fitz choked out.

Olivia shook her head slowly. Fitz could see her that her loyalties were torn. She had to take the side of the so-called victim in the situation. But she wanted to be there for him as well. "Look," Olivia said after a moment. "It's Friday, the kids are going back to their homes soon. I'll go talk to Abby about making a report to Amanda's caseworker, but I'm sure no one will want to talk to you until Monday."

"But what if someone at the group home is the one really hurting Amanda?" Fitz asked. "Is it safe to send her home?"

"There aren't any men on the staff, are there?" Olivia asked.

Fitz shook his head. "No, but –" He wasn't thinking straight. He was worried. Maybe Amanda had accused him of something out of spite. Maybe something had happened in her past that she was reminded of now. Maybe there was someone else involved. Couldn't that person be a woman? He tried to recall any of his interactions with the staff at Amanda's group home, but his thoughts were racing and he was getting confused.

"Fitz." Olivia's voice was calm. "I'll call the social worker and we'll set up a plan for the weekend. Just wait for me here." She stared into his eyes and he found comfort in hers. She brushed a hand across his cheek. Then she turned and left his office. She took his remaining air with her.

* * *

Olivia and Abby worked together for the next hour. They poured over Amanda's case files, looking at her family history for insight on the reasons for her allegations against Fitz. As was typical for most of the teenagers, Amanda had been in and out of foster homes since the time she was five. Her last foster home placement had ended when Amanda had run away for the third time, not returning until morning and leaving her foster parents not only scared for her safety but worried for their own future as foster parents. Amanda had lived in her current group home for a year and seemed to be doing well there.

Abby placed the call to Amanda's group home social worker because Olivia was unsure she could remain neutral while discussing Fitz. Luckily, the social worker knew Fitz well and agreed with Olivia that most likely nothing had happened. Abby didn't give her opinion on that one way or the other, but Olivia was pretty sure the red head agreed that Fitz would never hurt anyone. And he certainly wouldn't make moves on any of the students. Amanda's social worker felt that having Amanda return to the group home after school made the most sense. She agreed that she would personally meet with Amanda as soon as the bus arrived. From there, Amanda's caseworker with the state would be informed. However, it was likely that no one would approach Fitz until Monday morning.

Like Fitz, Abby wondered if someone at the group home was the true culprit, but Amanda's social worker was convinced that Amanda was safe there. "What about her boyfriend?" Olivia asked, listening to the conversation at Abby's side.

Abby glanced at Olivia, then said, "It might be a good idea to lock the house from visitors for the weekend. No boyfriends, no fathers visiting…" There was a pause as she listened. Then she nodded at Olivia. After she said her goodbyes, she explained that the staff would stay one-on-one with Amanda all weekend. She would not be left alone with anyone, not even fellow group home residents. And even when with the staff member who would be with her, they would remain in public areas and with doors open.

"I can't believe Fitz let her get to him with his door closed," Olivia said.

Abby shook her head. "We should ask Mellie if she saw anything," she commented. At Olivia's look, Abby added, "I'll do it." She got up and headed out of the office.

Olivia collapsed into Abby's vacated desk chair and dropped her head into her hands. Her ultimate hope was that Amanda would retract what she had said about Fitz. But her usual instinct when a child made an allegation was that the child was the one to be believed. Even if Amanda made a clear statement that Fitz had done nothing, would that be believable? Everything was supposed to have been getting better for Fitz, not worse.

Abby reentered the office and Olivia looked up. Abby shook her head. "Mellie's gone."

"Gone?" Olivia was surprised.

"It's 3:30, Liv," Abby explained. "Everyone left half an hour ago."

"Is Fitz still here?" Olivia stood quickly.

"His door was closed," Abby answered. "I'm pretty sure he's still in there." Noting Olivia's nervous eyes, Abby smiled. "Go to him. He needs you."

* * *

Fitz hadn't moved the entire time Olivia had been gone. His head was in his hands and he was slumped forwards in his chair. His throat was tight, his chest was hurting, and he felt lightheaded. He had heard of this kind of thing happening to others in his field. He had never thought it would happen to him.

He looked up when Olivia opened the door to his office. She looked radiant, even in the face of his self-pity. She approached him slowly, her hand lifting to stroke his cheek. He leaned away, when he wanted to lean into her.

"Everyone's gone," she told him in a soft voice. He just looked at her, having no idea what to say. She took a deep breath. "Fitz, I want you to come home with me." Her hand tugged on his, as if she could pull him up from his chair. Her eyes were pleading with him to move. To come with her.

"Olivia," he whispered, his voice refusing to cooperate. He stood up, steadying himself on his desk. She took his hand again and he followed her, picking up his bag on his way out.

When they exited into sunlight, Fitz was surprised. He was sure he had been in his office for so long that it would already be night. Blinking, he tried to snap himself out of the haze he was in.

Olivia led him to her car. "Do you want to come with me, or do you want to drive yourself?" she asked him.

"I think I'll let you drive," he said with a sigh. He folded himself into her tiny Toyota and they were quiet for the fifteen minutes it took for her to drive him to her house.

Following her into the small Victorian, Fitz almost found himself smiling as he looked around. Olivia's simple décor and the charm of the house itself made it ooze comfort. Olivia left him to head to her bedroom to change and he sat on her couch, returning his face to his hands and his elbows to his knees.

He looked up when he heard Olivia return and enter her kitchen, grabbing a glass and a bottle of wine. "Do you want some wine?" she asked him.

"Do you have anything stronger?"

She didn't reply, but within a few minutes she had handed him a tumbler of scotch and was sitting across from him with her wine glass. He drank, and looked at her. She had changed into a grey sweater that was tied at the waist and what seemed to be silky white pajama pants. She sipped from her glass, then set it down on the wooden table between them. She stood, rounded the table, and knelt on the couch beside him. Without a word, she took his face between her hands and kissed him.

It wasn't a gentle kiss. It wasn't tentative. It was a deep, crushing, all-consuming kiss that Fitz felt from his lips to his toes. He leaned over, setting down his glass beside hers, and then pulled her into him so that she was cradled in his lap. He raked his fingers into her hair, kissing her mouth as if he was a starving man and she was the food that would save his life. He felt like crying and he felt like laughing because she felt so good in his arms. He briefly wondered if she was kissing him because she felt sorry for him, but her hands had moved from his face to his shoulders and were tugging at his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders, and when he broke the kiss to look into her eyes, all he saw there was desire.

Olivia moved from his hold, straddling him with her knees placed on his hips. She kissed him all over his face – his eyelids, his cheeks, his jaw. He groaned at the feel of her lips, before capturing them with his once again. She had succeeding at removing his jacket and her fingers were working at his shirt buttons. He grasped at her bottom, pulling her core into his erection, and she moaned into his mouth.

Suddenly realizing they were on her couch and wanting to lay her out underneath him, he grabbed her hands in his and gasped out, "Bedroom." Her response was a smile and a kiss to his eyebrow. He stood, taking her with him in his arms. She was tiny, perfectly molded to his chest as he moved, kissing her hard and walking down the hallway she had previously disappeared down when she had gone to change. There was a door at the end of the hallway and he pushed it open, walked through, and kicked it closed. He turned, pressing her against the door. He released her lips, kissing her face before moving to the soft, smooth skin of her neck. The sounds she made in response were musical and encouraging and he slowly set her down on her feet.

He took a step back and looked at her and once again he was struck by her beauty. He reached out and tugged gently on the tie of her sweater, watching it fall open to reveal a white camisole. Not trusting himself to go easy on her clothing, he whispered, "Take off your clothes." She gave him a shy smile before complying, shrugging the sweater from her shoulders and dropping it to the floor. Next, she lifted the hem of her camisole, pulling it over her head. Then came a tug on the waist of her pants and they pooled to the floor by her feet. She stood in front of him in a white, lacy, bra and panties set and all he could do was stare at the perfect curves of her body.

In one quick movement, he reached for her and lifted her into his arms again. She let out a squeak which made him smile into her hair as he brought her across the room and laid her gently on top of her bed. Kicking off his shoes, his body followed hers. Her legs wrapped around his torso as he quickly finished undoing the buttons on his shirt and tossed it to the side. Her hand moved along his abs and he pressed his to her thighs, rubbing her velvety skin gently. He lowered his body over her, kissing his way from her neck, over her lace covered breasts, onto her flat stomach. Her body arched underneath him. He added a kiss to her center, inhaling her scent, and following his lips with his hands. She moaned out his name and he hooked his fingers to her panties, pulling them down her legs and off of her body. He kissed back up, tasting her skin as he went, wanting her essence in his mouth so badly that when he reached her folds and his tongue met soft wetness, he could only groan and grasp at her hips in an attempt to control himself from moving too quickly.

Her hands went to his hair and tugged at him, pushing and pulling, and her body began thrusting into his face. He looked up at her to see her reaction and was gratified to see her eyes shut tight, her cheeks flushed, and her mouth open as she panted. He traced her sex with his tongue before pushing inside of her and she cried out. He withdrew his tongue and added his fingers to her body, circling his tongue around her clit, and watched as she came apart in his hands.

As soon as he felt her relaxing under him, he crawled back up to her lips, using his knees to support himself as he undid his belt and pulled off his pants and underwear as one. Her arms went around his neck, pushing his head to hers and kissing him hard on the mouth. He rubbed his nose into hers and whispered, "You taste as amazing as you look." She smiled, lifting her hips into him, and allowing him to feel her wetness against his now released erection. Reaching down, he gently aligned himself with her opening and then pushed himself in. They both gasped at the beautiful feeling of connection.

Fitz moved slowly at first, rocking into her, panting at the feel of her body clenching his. Bending his head, he kissed her nipple through her bra, which in his haste he had not yet removed. He took care of that last bit of clothing quickly, and then closed his mouth over the glorious smooth skin of her breast. In his haze of pleasure he heard her moaning his name and his pumps into her quickened. Wanting to see her face, he released her nipple and whispered, "Look at me, Livvie."

Her eyes opened and widened as she once again shattered into him. The feel of her body and the look on her face led him to follow, grunting loudly, and burying his face in her neck as his climax shook his entire body. He collapsed on top of her, once again planting kisses on that perfect place between her jaw and her collarbone, and realizing that he never wanted to be anywhere but with this amazing woman. His release had been powerful, but it had been more than physical. It had been full of emotion. It had felt almost spiritual. At that moment, Fitz couldn't deny to himself that what he was feeling was love.


	7. Chapter 7

Olivia lay beside Fitz, running her hand gently over his jaw line, a part of him she had wanted to touch repeatedly from the moment they had met. She was on her side and he was on his back, staring at the ceiling. They had just made love for the first time and Olivia was waiting for Fitz to say something. Her thoughts were a little bit all over the place, wondering if he was okay with what had happened between them, curious whether he wanted to discuss the situation with Amanda, thinking that he might be hungry and she should get up and order some food.

She decided to go with the easiest. "Are you hungry?" she asked him. "I'm going to order Chinese, I think. Do you like Chinese Food?"

He turned his head towards her, as if suddenly realizing she was still there. "Chinese is good," he said. His voice sounded stronger than it had before. She withdrew her hand from his face and moved to get out of bed, but he stopped her. "Livvie, wait," he said.

Here it comes, she thought. Here's where he'll tell me he shouldn't be here with me, he has to go. But he didn't.

"Thank you," he said instead.

"You're thanking me?" she asked.

"I'm thanking you." He didn't clarify what he was thanking her for, but she felt something shift between them.

"This isn't fair to you, this thing with Amanda," she said softly. He winced and she knew he really didn't want to talk about it. But she went on. "There's something else going on with her that has nothing to do with you. I'm sure of it. And I'm going to figure it out."

"Today was supposed to be your last day at The Center," Fitz told her. As if she hadn't been aware of that fact.

"I'm going to be there for you – with you," she said. "We're going to get through this."

His eyes crinkled a little bit. "We are?" he asked her.

"We are." She moved to get up again, but again he stopped her, this time pulling her arm until she was flush against his body. She gasped a little bit as she felt his erection against her thigh.

"God, you're perfect," he murmured into her ear, following up with a lick to her ear lobe. He kissed her jaw line, and her neck, and her chin, and finally his lips met hers, sucking softly on her bottom lip.

She kissed him back, her body automatically responding to his, and she laughed when he pulled her on top of him.

"I feel like I've known you forever," he told her, his gaze so intense that she felt herself melting.

His arms were around her lower back. He was so much larger than her that he could practically wrap his arms around her twice. Olivia kissed him again, opening her mouth and letting in his tongue.

"I need you," he whispered against her mouth.

She reached for him then, aligning his hardness with her opening, and sat back onto him. His eyes went wide as she did so and he gasped out her name. A feeling of power went through her as she saw the effect she had on him. But that feeling was quickly replaced by pleasure as he bucked his hips into hers and she realized how much she needed him too.

Olivia couldn't remember sex ever feeling quite as good as it did with Fitz. She imagined it must have something to do with her feelings for this beautiful man. The man who was now holding onto her hips and lifting her gently on and off of him. The man who reached for her breasts as she continued moving in the rhythm he had set. The man whose gaze was burning through her and setting her whole body on fire. She felt the pleasure building inside of her quickly and she began moving faster. Fitz responded with the same, his hands grasping at her. Her hands went to his and their fingers intertwined. Olivia moaned as she reached her release, and Fitz followed her into oblivion.

"Wow," she whispered, as she moved away from him, this time making it out of the bed before he grabbed her back. She pulled her robe on over her naked body. "I'm going to call for the Chinese now, okay?" she asked him.

He gave her a beautiful smile and she smiled back, still smiling when she made it back to the kitchen to retrieve her phone.

* * *

Mellie Blake was pacing her apartment. She had tried calling Fitz twice in the past half hour and she was trying not to appear desperate. Only, she really needed to reach him. Mellie had left school at 3 PM on the dot that afternoon, even though she really had wanted to see what would happen when Olivia returned to Fitz's office. She was intrigued by Olivia yelling at Fitz about being alone with one of the students and was wondering what exactly had gone on inside his office –both with Amanda and soon after with Olivia.

Mellie had been sitting calmly at her desk, when the teacher with the green eyes, Jake Ballard, had come to her and asked her if she wanted to get a drink with him. She had gone without question, briefly forgetting about the drama that was still unfolding in school. However, when she sat down with Jake, it was brought right back to mind.

Because all Jake wanted to talk about at the bar was Olivia Pope.

* * *

Fitz stretched and got out of Olivia's bed, even though he wanted to stay there for the rest of the evening. And maybe the rest of the weekend, if she'd let him. He pulled on his boxer briefs and his work pants, which he found discarded beside the bed where he had tossed them earlier. He needed his gym bag, which held clothes that were more comfortable, and he wasn't sure where in her house he had left it. He smirked to himself a bit at that – he was in her house. Maybe things hadn't turned out so badly after all.

As soon as he'd let himself have that thought though, he felt the buzzing of his phone in his pocket. Taking it out, he saw that Mellie was calling him. He rejected the call, but when he did he saw that she had called him 3 times prior. And then his phone lit up with a text from Mellie as well.

Need to speak to you abt Olivia.

What about Olivia? Fitz wondered. He recalled that Mellie had not been at her desk when he had left with Olivia, so she had no way of knowing they were together at the moment. And he actually had no desire to hear Mellie's gossip. He felt safe in Olivia's bubble and he wasn't ready to contact Mellie and break out of that safety. He turned off his phone and returned it to his pocket.

He found Olivia in her kitchen, having just finished placing their Chinese food order. "Hi," he said, smiling at her.

"Hi," she answered, setting her phone down and laying her hand against his chest. "You might want to put a shirt on unless you want us to be interrupted when the delivery guy gets here," she said, laughing.

He laughed too. "You're ready for round 3 already?" he teased her, and kissed her cheek as she blushed. "Do you know where I put my bag?" he asked. Finding it by the front door, Fitz grabbed a grey t-shirt and pulled it over his head. "Better?" he grinned at her and she gave him a half nod.

Fitz took a seat at the high counter in the middle of Olivia's kitchen. "How long have you lived here?" he asked her.

"Five years," she replied. "I moved here after I finished grad school."

This made Fitz smile, because he had been trying to guess her age. And figuring she'd finished grad school at twenty-three or twenty-four made her twenty-eight or twenty-nine now, just as he had figured. He was almost forty – not that much older than she was.

"I think we were supposed to have our first date tonight," he told her.

She laughed at that. "Well, I think we kind of did," she answered.

"Yeah, and It was kind of perfect," he agreed, reaching for her and touching the edge of her satin robe.

Just then, the doorbell rang and Fitz jumped up, telling her he would pay for the take out order. Fitz set out the cartons of Chinese food on the counter, while Olivia put out plates and utensils to serve the food with. Then they each helped themselves to helpings of chicken with broccoli, ginger beef, chow mein, moo goo gai pan, and fried rice. They sat beside each other and ate with chop sticks, laughing at each other when neither was perfect at it.

When Fitz finished, he wandered around the living room, looking at Olivia's books and various knick knacks decorating her shelves. He noticed that there were very few framed pictures, but there was one of her looking a bit younger, standing with a man on what looked like the top of a mountain. There was a scenic view behind them and they were holding up their arms in a victorious pose. "Who's this?" he asked.

"That's my friend Stephen," Olivia answered. "We grew up together. We were close like siblings."

"Were?" he asked.

"He got married last year," she replied. "I haven't really been able to talk with him since."

"His wife was jealous?" Fitz asked.

Olivia laughed. "I don't know, I think we just grew apart."

"His wife was jealous." Fitz repeated. "Who could blame her though?" he added with a smirk, and Olivia laughed again. Fitz truly loved the sound of her laughter. It made him want to laugh with her. "I bet his wife thinks men and women can't be friends."

"Hmm?" she asked.

"You know, it's from When Harry Met Sally," Fitz explained. "Harry says men and women can't be friends but Sally doesn't agree with him. I don't know, I kind of agree with Harry."

"I had to write a paper on that movie once," Olivia told him.

"That must have been an interesting class," Fitz laughed.

"It was for Interpersonal Communication. You know that movie has one of the best lines ever in it?"

"Which one?"

"'When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible,'" she quoted.

"God, that's a good line. That's such a good movie," he said with a smile.

"I love that movie," she agreed.

"We should watch it," he suggested.

"We should," she said, smiling.

Fitz shuffled his feet a little, then said, "Liv, I don't want to be presumptuous, but since you drove me here, I'm kind of stuck."

Olivia laughed. "I want you here," she told him.

* * *

Olivia went into her bedroom to change – again – as Fitz set up the movie. She was a bit sticky and thought about a shower, but then realized she would probably not stay clean for long with Fitz there. She smiled to herself and shook her head a little at her thoughts. She chose new underwear and a tank top, but put back on the silky white pants she had worn earlier.

Returning to the living room, she cuddled up beside Fitz on the couch, laying her head on his strong chest, her ear against his heart. She was still having difficulty believing just how comfortable she was with him. But the truth was, she didn't want him to leave any time soon. She snaked her arm around his waist and sighed into him as his arm went around hers.

The movie was as good as she'd remembered, but she must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she was aware of was Fitz reciting the line she had quoted to him earlier. He said it softly, but the rumbling from his chest was what she heard under her ear. She stretched out a little and then kissed his face. When he turned towards her, they were eye to eye and lip to lip. She reached out and traced his lips with her finger. He responded by parting his lips and touching her finger with his tongue. Such a small gesture, but it felt so intimate. They seemed to communicate through their eyes, with no words needing to be spoken. Her eyes said, 'Take me to bed.' And his said, 'There's nothing else I'd rather do.'

* * *

Amanda Tanner lay in her bed in the dormitory style room she shared with three other girls. She stared at the ceiling in annoyance. She hadn't meant to get herself on lock down, now she wasn't even able to see her boyfriend like she wanted to. When Amanda had left Dr. Grant's office, she had been frustrated and embarrassed about his rejection of her advances, but when she was questioned about what was the matter, she had automatically turned the story around on him. And now they had her on a watch.

The truth was, she never would have thought Dr. Grant would be interested in her, but when Billy had encouraged her to speak to him about the possibility of his visit to school, he had said Amanda's looks could get her far. And then she had overheard her teacher Mr. Ballard discussing Dr. Grant's pliability when it came to good looking women. The stupid part was that Amanda knew the women Mr. Ballard had been talking about must have been older than 16. But she'd gone for it anyway.

Now, Billy was upset that he couldn't see Amanda, when the whole idea had been for him to see her more. And even though she thought Dr. Grant was nice and cute and didn't want him to get into trouble, she didn't know what would happen if she admitted that he had done nothing wrong. She would probably get into even more trouble for lying in the first place. Amanda flipped over in her bed, making the mattress to squeak and causing one of her roommates to hiss at her to be quiet. Amanda buried her face in her pillow and tried not to cry at the mess she had gotten herself into.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: This chapter took me awhile. I wasn't going to include the first part but I had to write it to figure out what happened, and then I decided to keep it in. I hope the time line makes sense - the first part is basically a flash back to Friday afternoon.**

Earlier that afternoon…

Mellie and Jake sat at the bar of a small restaurant located near the school. He'd suggested it because it was close. He didn't really care to hang out with Mellie, but he figured she had the inside info on Dr. Grant and what was going on with him and Olivia. He was pretty sure that anything he said to Mellie would get back to Grant, and he was prepared to say just about anything to get the man away from the girl he wanted.

Jake wasn't even sure why he wanted Olivia so badly. She'd barely looked at him when she wasn't speaking to him about his students. But he'd been attracted to her from the start. Of course, his closest friend at the school, Harrison, was attracted to her too. Harrison was just talk though, so Jake had tried to get her attention. But she wasn't responding the way he wanted. And then he realized her focus was actually on Grant. So he had to shut that down.

After he and Mellie had ordered drinks, Jake turned to her. "What's up with you and Dr. Grant?" he asked her.

Mellie smiled. "Oh, he's a sweetheart," she said with a giggle. "We go out sometimes."

"Oh yeah?" Jake replied. "I thought he was seeing that Olivia girl."

Mellie rolled her eyes. "If by 'seeing' you mean hanging out in his office with her, then yeah, he is."

"Oh, okay," Jake said. "I was worried, because I heard some things about Olivia that Dr. Grant might be interested in if he was seeing her. But if he's not, I guess it doesn't matter."

Mellie took the bait right away. "What things?" she asked.

Jake leaned towards her, as if he was telling a secret. "Listen, I'm not one to spread rumors, but I heard she dated her previous boss."

"Really?" Mellie's nose wrinkled a bit as she considered this.

"Yeah, it seems that she likes older guys."

"Who'd you hear from?" Mellie asked.

Jake smiled. "I just did some digging," he told her. "And it kind of sucks that she likes older guys, because I'm not that much older than her, you know?"

Mellie laughed at that. "Are you saying you're interested in her?"

"I would be," said Jake. "But like I said, she's into older guys, and I guess guys with authority over her."

"Aw, come on, Jake," Mellie said. "She'd be silly not to be interested in you!"

Jake shrugged. "Well, it's just I think she prefers older men. Like Dr. Grant."

"Oh," Mellie said, seeming to get his hint finally. "Do you want me to see what's up with her and Fitz?"

Jake nodded with a smile. "That would be great, Mellie," he said. "Thanks."

* * *

The next morning…

Olivia woke up wrapped in Fitz.

Olivia was not the type to enjoy physical contact with someone else while she was asleep. She tended to move around while trying to get comfortable, thus disturbing anyone around her. In the past, when she tried cuddling with a man while sleeping, her limbs would fall asleep or cramp up from weird positioning. She would find it hard to breathe if someone else was too close.

This was completely different.

Fitz slept on his back, his arm around Olivia, who had her head nestled between his shoulder and his body. She was completely curled into him, her forehead touching his side, her hand resting on his chest, her knees bent and touching his legs. Fitz's arm was crossed over hers, reaching across her body, his hand holding the side of her breast, so that she was completely encircled.

And she had slept soundly and comfortably like this.

Olivia was shocked. Although if she really thought about her comfort level with Fitz in general, her ability to sleep with him comfortably made perfect sense.

She inhaled, enjoying the masculine scent radiating off of Fitz. Shifting herself just slightly, Olivia lowered her hand to the sheet covering him at the waist. Like a schoolgirl sneaking a peak into the boys' locker room, she slowly lifted the sheet off of him. What she saw was enough to make her body respond.

"Like what you see there, Livvie?"

Fitz's sleepy voice, even deeper and sexier than it was normally, startled Olivia so much that she let out a small shriek and jumped, her head hitting Fitz in the chin. He snorted with laughter and she hid her face against him, embarrassed at having been caught, but not truly regretting her actions. Fitz's hand moved to her ribs and his fingers moved across slowly, eliciting a ticklish giggle from Olivia. She quickly tried to roll away from him, but he pulled her back. When their eyes met, the laughter remained between them, but they both grew serious as Fitz drew Olivia's face to him for a searing kiss. She sighed against his mouth, still not quite able to believe how great he made her feel.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said, hopping out of the bed.

"Okay," Fitz replied. "Can I make you breakfast?"

"Who would say no to a handsome man making breakfast?" Olivia teased.

"What should I make?" he asked. "Eggs? Bacon? Toast? Waffles?"

Olivia wrinkled her nose. "No to the waffles. Everything else sounds great."

She blew him a kiss and headed into the bathroom, wondering briefly if he'd decide to join her.

* * *

Fitz lay back on Olivia's bed smiling to himself about how adorable he found her. He was thinking about following her to the shower, but he didn't know if their relationship had reached the shower together stage. Sure, they'd had sex – no, made love – multiple times, but the intimacy of a shower was something he wasn't sure they were ready for. He decided he'd better take his mind off of Olivia's naked and wet body and turn his phone back on.

Grabbing his pants from the floor, he fished his phone out of his pocket, and took a deep breath, worrying about what might be there. Luckily, he had no voice mails, just another text from Mellie. All it said was "Call me."

Fitz briefly thought about calling and waking Mellie, who was bound to be sleeping in on a Saturday morning, but decided this would probably make him appear to be just as desperate as she was. So he sent her a text.

What do you want?

He'd almost replaced the phone in his pants pocket when it buzzed, indicating a text back.

Calling you.

Fitz groaned to himself as his phone immediately began to ring. He answered, knowing it was too late for avoidance. "What's going on, Mellie?" he asked.

"Is something going on between you and Olivia?" Mellie asked.

Fitz laughed, trying to sound casual. "Really? That's what you need to talk to me about on the weekend?"

"Really," Mellie said. "I'm worried about you. Olivia isn't good for you, Fitz."

"And what makes you say that?"

"She has a history of dating men who have authority over her. She must enjoy the dynamics of that kind of thing."

Fitz didn't reply. He wasn't sure what Mellie was getting at, but he also didn't think he wanted to know.

"She's like 10 years younger than you, Fitz, right?" Mellie said.

Fitz cleared his throat. "I don't know how old she is."

"Well, she's definitely younger than 30," Mellie replied. "And she likes to go for older men. But Jake wants to convince her to date him and he's younger than the men she usually dates!"

"Jake?" asked Fitz, curious if Jake had encouraged Mellie to call him.

"Yeah, Jake's really into Olivia. And since you're not with her, it should be fine for him to go for it!"

At this, Fitz actually laughed. "I have to go, Mellie," he told her. "See you on Monday."

He hung up, shaking his head. He did not understand Mellie at all. On the other hand, he was a little bit rattled by what she had told him. Grabbing his gym bag, he pulled on clean underwear and shorts, and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast for Olivia.

* * *

Olivia found Fitz at her stove, frying bacon, wearing shorts but no shirt. She crept up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her hands on his chest. She felt him stiffen at her touch. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said, turning to her and kissing her eyebrow. "You just surprised me, that's all." He turned back to the stove and Olivia let go of him, feeling that something was different, but she didn't know what. "After we eat, can you take me back to get my car?" he asked her.

"Sure," Olivia answered, figuring he needed to leave at some point, if only because he was running out of clothes, but truly wanting him to stay. "Will you come back later?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied, and she didn't question him, but she felt something sinking inside of her, wondering what was going on.

They ate their breakfast in relative silence, and when they finished and Fitz had changed back into his work clothes, they got into her car and headed back towards The Center. After Olivia pulled into the parking lot and parked beside his car, she turned to him. "Okay, what happened? Everything was fine until I got out of the shower. Did you start thinking while I was in the shower or something?"

When Fitz turned to her, she saw hurt in his eyes. She drew in a breath. She couldn't imagine what had happened. She started running through options in her head. Maybe he'd realized he shouldn't be with her, that it was a conflict of interest for her to be working with Amanda while sleeping with him. Which of course, he would be right about. But she didn't care anymore. And she'd thought he'd moved past that too.

"Olivia, can I ask you something?" he said in a serious voice.

She was immediately startled that he'd called her Olivia. She didn't remember him calling her anything besides Liv or Livvie since early last week. "Of course," she said, staring at him worriedly.

"Have you ever done anything like this before?" he asked.

She laughed nervously. "Like drive a man in my car?" she asked.

"No. Like bring a man home when he's feeling down on himself. Like seduce your boss. Like have a thing for older men?" His voice almost cracked on his last question and Olivia's eyes, which had started widening when he began, felt like they would pop out of her head.

"Excuse me?" she said. "Are you accusing me of something here, Fitz?"

He hung his head, almost looking ashamed with himself. But his eyes still shone with pain. "Do you make it a habit to sleep with your bosses, Olivia?" he asked in a low, quiet voice.

Olivia's heart ached at his words. Did he really think so little of her, think that she would have done what she'd done with him if it hadn't meant something? Did he think that she was only attracted to him for his power, or worse, that she'd used him somehow? And he was making this accusation when she'd so easily come to support him after Amanda's allegations? She didn't know how to answer him without starting to cry, so she broke his gaze, looking out the window.

Fitz opened the car door and stepped out. Olivia turned back towards him, begging him to stay. But that was only in her head. Out loud, she said nothing. Fitz closed the door and walked away without saying goodbye. Olivia felt her throat closing and her eyes were beginning to tear, but her stubbornness stopped her from going after him. Instead, she shifted back into drive and pulled out of the spot, leaving the parking lot before she could watch him drive away.

* * *

Surprisingly, Fitz made it home without running any red lights or otherwise breaking any laws. He'd driven erratically, for sure, but somehow he'd arrived just fine. He was so angry with himself for what he'd said to Olivia. At the same time, he'd needed to know if what Mellie had told him held any weight.

Fitz was the child of a loving mother and an emotionally abusive father who had always wanted Fitz to be someone else. His mother died, leaving him alone with his father's insults and expectations. He could have gone into politics like his father had wanted him to, but instead he'd decided he wanted to help people. He wanted to help kids survive past abuse and neglect. But even though he felt successful in his career, his personal life was not as much of a success.

He had dated women, he had slept with women, he had even thought that he loved a few women. But none of those women had ever touched his heart like Olivia Pope. None of them had ignited the flames in his body with one look, or had made his body explode with pleasure from a gentle touch. And while he admitted he was falling for her, he was afraid. He was afraid that what he felt wasn't real, and that she didn't feel the same.

So obviously he'd freaked out a little when considering that what Olivia was doing with him might be a pattern for her. And when he asked her about it and she didn't answer? That was a confirmation for him. He didn't know what that confirmation meant exactly, but he was hurt and saddened by it. He headed directly for the shower, standing under a stream of almost boiling hot water, trying to wash away his self-hatred. Trying not to cry. Trying to think of anything besides Olivia Pope.


	9. Chapter 9

Fitz made it home safely, but Olivia did not.

Olivia Pope was made to be strong. She was made to be tough. She was made to let the punches roll off of her and move along. But that was her exterior. On the inside, she was just as vulnerable and messy as anyone else, sometimes more so than everyone else. The fact was, what Fitz had said about her was true. At least somewhat.

By the time Olivia entered college, she was tired of depending on her father to support her when it was so obvious that he wasn't interested in doing so. Because she didn't actually have a way to support herself, other than dipping into the money her mother had left her when she had died, she began "dating" a string of older men. But by dated, she really meant date. One date. Each. Olivia preferred to focus on school, but she had a hard time turning down free meals. So she would go out with men when they invited her, but only the first time. After that, she'd gently let them off the hook. So if that could be considered having a habit of dating older men, then yes, it was true.

As for dating her bosses, that part wasn't exactly true. The man Fitz seemed to have found out about – and how he'd found out she didn't know – had been her direct supervisor at her internship at a family counseling center. But they hadn't dated until after she had finished her internship. And their relationship hadn't been a good one.

Olivia had started her relationship with Edison Davis somewhat naively. They had begun with a dinner, as Olivia had done with the many other men she'd met over the years. But this time, she'd accepted a second invitation. And slowly, she'd allowed the walls she had built around her to open to him. Olivia didn't know what love felt like. She thought Edison's declarations of love were true. She thought it was normal for him to insist she stay at home and do her school work while he went out to dinner with colleagues and out to parties with his friends. She thought he was being supportive. That all fell apart the day she returned home early from school and found Edison in bed with another woman. Olivia didn't even stay to find out who the woman was. She'd opened up her savings account and found a new place to stay that very day. And that was the last time she had allowed her walls to come down for anyone.

Until she'd met Fitz.

Of course, she'd been very wary at first. Especially because of his age and because he was her boss. But somehow he'd made her feel safe. And she had fallen for him hard. Bringing him home with her had been a risk, and she had taken that risk with her eyes partially blinded. And as Olivia drove home from leaving Fitz by his car, her eyes were almost fully blinded by her tears. So that was probably why she had only realized at the last minute that her car was drifting off the road. In trying to regain control, she had managed to lose control further, her car bouncing like a pinball and stopping against a tree. Olivia's head hit the window beside her and the next thing she knew, she had woken up in the hospital.

* * *

Fitz was coming out of the shower when he heard his phone ringing. When he saw it was Olivia calling, he took a deep breath, got ready to apologize, and answered. Instead of Olivia's voice though, he heard a commotion in the background of the call. "Hello?" he said.

A man's voice replied. "Yes, hello. I'm calling from St. Peter's Hospital. You were the last person called on the phone we found on a young woman who was in a car accident. Do you know the person who this number belongs to?"

Fitz sank down on to his bed. "Is she okay?" he choked out. "Please, tell me she's okay."

"Sir, we really can't release information about her over the phone. If you would please come to the hospital and ask for me – Dr. West – I'd be happy to give you more information."

"Okay," Fitz said. "Of course." He disconnected the call and quickly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He stopped to pull on a grey hoodie before racing out the door and jumping back into his car.

Fitz made it to the hospital, parked, and ran inside in what must have been record time. He was out of breath when he asked for Dr. West and was directed to the Emergency Room. The doctor that greeted him explained again that Olivia had been in a car accident and was now willing to tell him that she had hit her head and was currently under observation. "Does she know I'm here?" Fitz asked shakily.

"She didn't want us to call anyone, but I felt like someone should be here with her. She seems pretty upset. So that's why I called you. I hope you don't mind."

"No, no, of course not," Fitz said. "Can I see her?"

The doctor brought him to a room off of the emergency wing and showed him inside. He felt himself holding back tears yet again when he saw Olivia, so small and fragile in her hospital gown, her head propped against pillows, her gaze focused on the wall. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. At the sound of the door closing, Olivia looked up.

"Fitz," she whispered. "What are you doing here?" Fitz felt his heart breaking as he watched her eyes fill with tears. He crossed the room in one step and sat gingerly on the bed beside her.

"Of course I came, Livvie," he told her. "Of course. Are you okay? Does your head hurt?" Olivia looked away from him. He gently reached out for her cheek and caressed her. "I am so sorry, Livvie. I should have never asked you those questions this morning. We haven't talked about our pasts and we can do that whenever you're up to it." He brushed a tear from her cheek. "Or not at all, if you don't want to tell me anything. But Livvie, I need you in my life. Please don't make me leave." He slowly lowered his head to the crook of her neck and nuzzled her gently. He barely heard her, but he felt her throat vibrate when she let out a small moan. Then he felt her hand in his hair.

Ever so slowly, Fitz raised his head and took her hand that had touched his hair into his own. He looked at her beautiful dark brown eyes and wished she would look back at him. He stroked her hand gently. "Livvie?" he said softly.

She looked at him with sad eyes. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently.

Olivia and Fitz both looked up as the doctor entered the room. He cleared his throat a little and then spoke. "Okay, Olivia, your results look good. I don't see signs of a concussion, but you'll need to have someone with you for 24 hours to make sure nothing changes." He looked at Fitz. "She needs to come back to the ER if there is any vomiting, blurry vision, confusion, or if her headache starts becoming worse. You can use ice and pain meds, rest up, and I'm confident you'll be feeling better very soon."

After the doctor left them with discharge instructions, Fitz turned to Olivia. She still hadn't said anything to him after she had asked him why he had come. "Will you let me take you home?" Fitz asked her. Her answer was a nod and a wince that he thought was from her pain. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Please," she said softly. "Take me home."

* * *

Olivia was confused. She wanted Fitz so much that it hurt. At the same time, she was afraid. She didn't want to be hurt again. And she was upset with herself for becoming so overwhelmed with how she felt that she ended up crashing her car. Fitz drove her to her house and helped her inside with such gentleness that Olivia wanted to cry. "Here we are," he told her, as he led her into her bedroom. She just looked at him.

He very gently removed her jeans and helped her slide under her covers. She shivered slightly at the feel of her bed, empty without him. She looked up at him and held out her hand. He seemed to know what she wanted immediately, and she watched as he took off his sweatshirt and jeans and joined her, wrapping his arms around her body and rubbing circles on her back. She pressed her face into his warm chest and began to cry.

"Livvie?" Fitz's voice sounded like a rumble in his chest. "Are you crying?" he asked her, reaching a hand onto her face and feeling her wet cheeks. "Please don't cry," he said in a soft voice. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I shouldn't have…" He trailed off. "Shh, Livvie," he whispered. "Just rest now. We can talk later."

He held her and rubbed her back until she fell asleep, her head still aching but her body comforted by his strong arms around her and the feel of his heart beating against her forehead.

Olivia dreamed that she was opening the door to her house, but inside was a hospital room. She approached the bed in the middle of the room and Fitz appeared inside of it. When she stepped closer, she saw that there was a woman in the bed with him, looking suspiciously like Amanda Tanner. She turned away and Fitz reappeared behind her, begging her forgiveness. Her head ached and she covered her ears to block out his voice calling her Livvie and saying he was sorry over and over again. She tried to get away from him, but he blocked her way, and as she tried to push him, she jerked awake.

Fitz was holding her hand and looking at her with concern in his eyes. "You were dreaming," he said.

"Nightmare," she answered and as he released her hand she reached out and smoothed it over his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not really," she answered, blinking and trying to clear her head.

"Do you want me to get you some ice?" he offered.

She shook her head. "Just keep holding me," she replied, trying to snuggle closer to him.

"Turn around," he suggested, and she rolled over so her back was against his chest. He held her gently around her stomach and she relaxed into him.

"It's not that you're older than me," Olivia said, now that she faced away from him and couldn't see his eyes. His arm tightened around her.

"We don't need to talk about it now," he said.

"I know," she answered. "It's just…I want you to know. You being older isn't what attracted me to you."

"So what was it?" he asked, his voice full of vulnerability.

"The way you care. Your sensitivity. The way your heart shows when you smile." She turned back towards him.

"Not my eyes and my hair?" he teased.

"That too," Olivia said smiling, her hand automatically going to the back of his head to feel his curls.

He bent his head and kissed her. She tried to kiss him back, but he stopped her. At her pout, he said, "No strenuous activity, remember?"

She turned around again, pulling his arm back around her. She intertwined her fingers with his. The heat radiating off of him was comforting and she closed her eyes. "You'll stay?" she asked him softly.

"Of course," he replied, his fingertips stroking her arm. "As long as you need me. Or longer."

She smiled, knowing they had a lot to work through but hoping they would have a lot more time to do so. As she drifted off to sleep again, she allowed herself to believe, once again, that Fitz was for real. That he wasn't going to hurt her. That he was an honest, vulnerable, beautiful man who hadn't meant to hurt her that morning. And this time she slept without dreaming.


	10. Chapter 10

When Fitz woke up, he was disoriented. The light in the room was dim and he was alone. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, quickly remembering he was at Olivia's house. "Livvie?" he called, hopping out of her bed and walking towards the hallway.

"I'm in the living room," she called and he breathed a sigh of relief as he hurried towards her.

"Everything okay?" he asked, taking in her small form huddling under a fleece blanket and holding her laptop on her knees.

"Just googling myself," she said.

"Googling?" he repeated, running his hand through his hair in confusion as he came closer to her. She shifted over and made room for him beside her. He lifted her blanket and sat down, replacing the blanket on top of them both.

Olivia pointed at her screen. Fitz blinked at a picture of a slightly younger Olivia and a man. She was looking up at him and smiling but he was looking at the photographer. He was holding a beer and she was holding a plate. The caption read, "Edison Davis celebrating the 10th anniversary of Passaic Counseling Center, with intern Olivia Pope."

Olivia looked at Fitz. "Is this the picture you saw?" she asked.

Fitz realized almost immediately that Olivia thought he had intentionally searched out information about her past, coming to his own conclusions about her history with men. "I've never seen this before, Livvie," he told her. "I didn't google you." She looked at him and he thought she believed him. "Look, someone told me those things I said about you. I don't know why I let them get to me. I shouldn't have listened."

"Fitz, the thing is…" she started.

"Shh, Livvie," he said. "It doesn't matter."

"It does matter! He was my boss. I did date him, but not until I stopped working for him. And I wish it never happened." This last part was under her breath, but he heard it. And suddenly he wondered if she would say the same about him.

"What makes you say that?" he asked her, trying not to jump to conclusions.

She sighed. "He hurt me," she said. "He cheated on me."

Fitz couldn't believe the idiocy of the man. He had a woman like Olivia and he'd still looked elsewhere? He shook his head. "I'm so sorry. I would never…" The look on her face made him stop. "What?" he asked.

"Don't make promises," she said, looking away and closing her laptop.

"I get it," Fitz told her. "You've been hurt before. And you need to protect yourself. But please believe me when I say I will do everything in my power to take care of you and keep you safe from now on. If anyone tried to hurt you…" His mind flashed to Jake Ballard. He obviously needed to have a discussion with the man. "How's your head?" he asked.

"Still hurts a bit. I just couldn't sleep anymore." She turned her body towards him and curled herself into him.

"You know how scared I was when I heard you were in the hospital?" Fitz asked her, hugging her small body against his.

She shook her head, looking up at him with those big eyes. He was happy to see that she didn't look quite as sad as she had earlier. He kissed her head.

"I was very scared. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't imagine going on without you in my life. And I never would have forgiven myself if you weren't okay."

"Fitz, the accident wasn't your fault," Olivia said, sitting up and looking at him.

"Of course it was," Fitz insisted. "If I hadn't said what I said you wouldn't have been so upset and it wouldn't have happened."

"It wasn't your fault," she said again. She cupped his face in her hands. "It was my fault for getting upset and for not answering your questions."

"No, Livvie," Fitz tried again, but she stopped him by kissing him on the lips gently.

"Please don't blame yourself," she said as she pulled back from the kiss. He decided to let it go and to forgive himself, because she seemed as if she had forgiven him.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her.

"A little."

"What kind of comfort foods do you like?" he asked with a smile.

"Macaroni and cheese," she replied immediately. "Or grilled cheese with tomato soup."

"Okay." He detangled himself from her and headed to the kitchen. "Do you have the ingredients for any of that?" he called back to her.

She called out directions to him for finding what he needed and soon enough he was back with her on the couch with grilled cheese sandwiches.

"Should we watch another cheesy movie?" Fitz asked.

"Mmm, cheesy movie to go with cheese sandwiches?" Olivia joked, and Fitz was happy to see her smiling again.

* * *

Later that night, Olivia lay in her bed, once again with Fitz beside her. She could hardly believe everything that had transpired since the previous afternoon when she had first brought him to her house. He had shown her his vulnerability but he had also proven that he cared about her and was there for her when she needed him. Even after the way she had felt that morning when he had confronted her about her past, she still felt safe with him and she had to admit that she would have been happy if he never left her bed again.

It was with these thoughts in mind that she very gently slipped her hand under his t-shirt and began stroking his abs and chest. She felt his breath hitch and his soft moan as she pressed herself against him. "Livvie," he said, his voice strained. "The doctor said – "

"I know," she told him. "I feel fine. It'll be fine." She pushed up his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it off the side of the bed. She looked into his eyes and saw his lust and desire for her there. She felt her own breathing speed up and her heart rate increase as she very gently brought her lips to his and kissed him.

His kiss in return was tentative at first, but when she opened her mouth to him, his tongue found hers and the kiss deepened quickly. Olivia could not remember ever feeling the type of pleasure she received from just kissing Fitz. Her hands went to his hair and his moved to her waist, pulling her on top of him, gently but quickly. She moaned into his mouth as his hands caressed her from her thighs to her back. She kissed his beautiful, perfect face everywhere, from his forehead to his chin, licking and sucking a little but mostly just planting kisses all over. His eyes closed and she kissed his eyelids. She lowered her head and kissed his neck.

"Livvie," he said again. "Are you sure?"

She stopped kissing at him to look into his deep blue eyes. "I'm sure. I've never been more sure. I want you, Fitz," she said.

With a low growl, he rolled her off of him onto her back, and lifted her shirt off of her almost at the same time. She giggled a little at his urgency, but stopped when his lips found her nipple and he began a gentle caress with his tongue. Her back arched and he took the opportunity to pull down her underwear, his hands stroking down her legs and then back up towards her center. She moved her hands to his lower back and traced around the top of his boxer briefs to the front before gently dipping her hand inside and stroking him. He groaned at the contact and helped her remove the material separating him from her body.

Olivia watched him as he held his body above hers, his face the picture of a man filled with need. And it was for her. She shuddered as he lowered himself towards her and pressed himself into her. She moaned at the feeling as his body filled hers. Once he was fully inside, he stilled, and whispered to her, "You are so beautiful."

She shifted under him, willing him to move. She bucked her hips against him. She threw her head back and wrapped her legs around him. Finally, she begged. "Please, Fitz. Please."

She was thankful he didn't make her express what exactly she wanted and he bent his head to kiss her neck as he started gliding in and out of her. Her body responded to his automatically, her nerve endings exploding with pleasure that radiated from her center to her fingers and toes. "So good," she cooed to him and he replied by moving just a little faster.

Their bodies felt as if they were made for each other. Fitz obviously knew what he was doing, as he varied the speed of his strokes, adding a hip swivel occasionally. "How's that?" he asked her, giving her a cute, crooked smile. She just moaned in response as his hand began moving from her leg, up her side, onto her breast, and finally in between their bodies and to her clit, rubbing her with just the right amount of pressure to bring her closer and closer to the edge.

She laced her fingers into his hair as she came undone and then opened her eyes to see his face contort in pleasure as he too reached his peak. He collapsed with a loud grunt but quickly rolled off of her and she reached for him, upset by his quick abandonment. He laughed at her disappointed face and said, "I didn't want to hurt you. Does your head still feel okay?"

Olivia had almost forgotten that she was supposed to be recovering from her accident and she laughed. "I'm fine," she assured him. "Actually I feel amazing." She moved towards him and kissed him hard on the mouth, searching out his tongue and twirling hers with his. His hand went to her face and she drew back. "You are amazing," she told him.

"I'm glad you think so!" he said with a laugh. He pulled her towards him and held her. She cuddled herself into him, wrapping her arms around his body and laying her head on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat and the rise and fall of his chest soon lulled her to sleep.

* * *

Fitz lay awake, holding Olivia as she slept on his chest. He wanted to sleep too, but the thoughts swirling through his head were keeping him awake. He felt much more secure in his relationship with Olivia than he had felt that morning, especially now that he was sleeping in her bed for the second night in a row. He had to have hope that she really wanted him there and that he would find himself there many more times in the future.

But first, there were so many things he would have to face. The Amanda situation seemed so far away, but soon enough the haven of the weekend would end and they would have to actually address the things she had said about him. He also had to decide what he would say to Jake Ballard when they returned to school on Monday. He was concerned by the fact that Jake had researched Olivia and found out information to pass to Mellie. He was sure Jake had known exactly what he was doing by telling Mellie the information, as Mellie had brought it straight to Fitz. The more Fitz thought about it, the more he wondered whether Jake had something to do with Amanda's accusations as well.

Olivia shifted in his arms and he gently stroked her hair. She whimpered and Fitz wondered if she was having another nightmare. He got his answer when she suddenly wrenched herself from his arms and cried out. He reached for her and gently tried to wake her without scaring her further. Her eyes flew open and she gasped, her face beside his on the pillow, her hands flying to her mouth. "Shh," he whispered, caressing her cheek. "I'm here. You're okay."

She placed her hand against his beating heart. "Please don't leave me," she whispered, her eyes oozing vulnerability.

"I won't," he told her. "I'm not going anywhere. Go back to sleep."

He watched with tender empathy as she closed her eyes, cuddled against him, and tried to regulate her breathing. He stroked her back gently, whispering to her that she was okay and that he was with her until he was sure she had drifted back into slumber. Closing his eyes, he listened to her deep breathing, and soon fell asleep beside her.


	11. Chapter 11

Olivia slept fitfully, waking often from dreams and from her head aching. Each time she awoke, Fitz was there to comfort her and help her get back to sleep. At one point, she woke up shivering and he helped her put on her pajama pants and a t-shirt and he held her even tighter to warm her up. When she woke up for what must have been the fifth or sixth time and found Fitz holding her while he remained asleep, she once again marveled at the comfort she felt with him. At this point, she was sure she wouldn't be sleeping at all if he wasn't with her.

She regarded him in the dim light and thought how sweet he looked while he was sleeping. He looked much younger than he did while awake. He was different when he was outside of school, she realized, as she recalled her initial impressions of him and compared them to how she felt about him now. She wondered if her presence in his life had changed him or if his true personality had always been hiding inside. She decided it was probably a mixture of both and she gently traced his jaw with her fingers, causing him to shift against her and move his mouth as if he might say something.

Then he did say something. It sounded like "Liv," or maybe "love." She watched as his eyes cracked open and he looked directly at her. "You okay?" he mumbled.

"I'm good," Olivia whispered. Fitz's eyes closed and soon his breathing regulated again. Olivia once again used his heart beat as the rhythm to which she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up next, it was morning and the sun was shining across the bed. Fitz's hair looked almost golden in the light. She didn't want to wake him, but it was as if he could sense that she was looking at him and his eyes opened. "Good morning," she whispered to him. He smiled.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his hand smoothing her hair from the top of her head to her shoulder.

"A little tired, but otherwise I'm okay," she told him, letting her head rest against his hand.

He sat up. "There's somewhere I want to bring you today, if you're up for it," he said.

She was definitely up for wherever he might want to bring her, but she wasn't sure she wanted to be surprised. "Where is it?" she asked.

"Well, remember I told you about the beach and you didn't think there was a nice beach in New Jersey?"

She nodded with a smile. "I remember."

"I want to show you the place I thought about when we talked about that."

She loved that he remembered their conversation, which seemed to have occurred so long ago. She climbed out of the bed and headed to the closet. "What should I wear?" she asked him.

He laughed at her excitement. "Don't you want to shower first?" he asked.

"Nah, I might get sandy on the beach. I can shower later!" she said happily.

"Okay, then wear something comfortable, but maybe bring along something nice so we can go out to dinner tonight." He started getting out of bed and she watched his body move with admiration. "Speaking of, I hope you don't mind, but I need to stop at my house to change and pick up clothes for dinner."

She smiled, thinking she'd love to get to see his house. "Sure," she told him, turning back to her closet and picking out a lightweight blue and white sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. She removed her pajamas and got dressed, moving with confidence, knowing he was watching her. When she faced him again, he had put on his jeans but was holding his t-shirt in his hands, just staring at her. "What?" she asked, suddenly feeling shy.

"I was just thinking that you are beautiful," he said, giving her a crooked smile and then pulling his t-shirt over his head.

"Thanks," she said, smiling in a way that she hoped appeared flirtatious and not self-conscious, which was how she actually felt. She wasn't used to be told she was beautiful. Grabbing a bag, Olivia quickly packed an outfit that she could change into later along with some makeup and hair products, and then told Fitz that she was ready to go.

Fitz stood from putting on his shoes and reached for her. She went to him and he pulled her into his chest. She giggled a little and he leaned over to plant a kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, he smiled and said, "Let's go!" He pulled her by the hand out of the house and didn't let her go until he'd made sure she was comfortable in the passenger seat of his car.

On the way to Fitz's house, he held her hand, their fingers laced together and balanced on his thigh. She was happy to see that his house wasn't far from hers. It was a two bedroom cape style house and Olivia looked around with interest. She found herself waiting in the living room while he went to his bedroom to change. She was about to join him, when he returned, having apparently changed into a new pair of jeans and a different t-shirt, but still looking just as gorgeous as ever. He looked like he knew she was checking him out, but he just smiled and once again pulled her to his car.

* * *

About an hour later, Fitz pulled up in front of his family's beach house. As a kid, he used to spend parts of his summer at the house, playing in their pool and running out to the beach to jump in the waves. He had happy memories of the place, but he hadn't spent much time there since his mother died. However, when Olivia had mentioned her happy summertime memories, he had thought of his own and had wanted to share them with her. He looked over at her now and realized she was sleeping, her head tilted back against the seat of the car, her mouth slightly open. She looked adorable.

Fitz reached over and stroked Olivia's cheek. He didn't think he would ever stop marveling at how smooth and soft her skin was. She opened her eyes and looked at him, then turned and looked at the house. It was a typical beach house, but he found himself nervous about whether she would like it. He was happy to see her beautiful face light up in a smile and she turned to him as she opened the car door, ready to get out and explore. "Where are we?" she asked him, excitement in her voice.

"This is where I spent my summers when I was a kid," he told her.

"Wow, Fitz, your own beach house?" she said, climbing out of the car and standing on the sandy driveway. "I smell the ocean!" she said. "Is it close?"

"Right behind the house," he answered, gesturing and then laughing at her excited face. He grabbed their bags and led her onto the front porch, stopping to pull the key from his bag and then guiding her inside. He put their things down and started opening a few windows to air out the musty smell inside. Olivia headed straight through the house and opened the door to the back patio. He followed her.

"Wow!" she said again, regarding the pool, and the beach beyond. "There's a hot tub?" she asked him. "But I didn't bring a bathing suit."

"Mmm hmm," he answered, standing directly behind her and snaking his arm around her waist. He gently kissed the side of her neck and smiled as he felt goose bumps on her skin. She turned to him and smiled, the look in her eyes full of mischief. He was disappointed when she moved away from him, but found himself laughing as she hurried towards the gate that led to the beach, stopping to shed her shoes and socks on the way. He followed.

He took off the sandals he was wearing and stood still for a moment, watching Olivia moving towards the ocean. She looked happy. He laughed as she shrieked when her toes touched the cold water. Then he took off after her. When he reached her, he scooped her up by her waist, dangling her over the ocean as if he was thinking of tossing her in. She shrieked some more and kicked her legs, accidentally kicking him and causing him to stumble.

Fitz pulled Olivia's body towards his, cradling her head as he hit the sand in a sitting position. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized. "Are you okay?"

Her answer came in the form of her lips crashing into his, kissing him with wild abandon and causing him to gasp. Her hands went to his shoulders and with a gentle push, he was lying on his back in the sand with her on top of him. Her legs opened and straddled him, her body pressed into his. He moaned as she rubbed against him, still kissing him and lighting his whole body on fire.

The beach was relatively empty, but Fitz didn't want to get carried away, so he sat up and pulled her onto his lap. He held her there, kissing her neck gently. The breeze was cool and the sun was warm. The waves were soothing. He felt happy. He resisted picking her up and carrying her back to the house to make love to her for the rest of the day. There were other things he wanted to do first. He stood up, pulling her with him. "Come on," he said. "I want to show you the boardwalk."

"Do you have your own boardwalk too?" she asked, laughing.

"I like to pretend I do!" he joked, tugging her hand. They walked back to the gate and retrieved their shoes, then they walked along a concrete sidewalk which became a boardwalk after a few blocks. Many of the shops and restaurants were closed for the season, but Fitz wanted to show her around anyway. He happily pointed out the arcades he used to hang out in, the place to buy the best homemade fudge in the area, and the pier which held mostly kiddie rides, but also a large ferris wheel and a few faster rides.

"How many girls have you taken here?" Olivia asked him.

"When I was in high school – a lot," he said. "But since then? Just you."

She seemed to appreciate his answer and she turned to him, reaching her arms up to hug him around his neck. He kissed her and she smiled.

"Okay, one more place," he said, pointing. "That right there is Antonio's. Best pizza in New Jersey! You hungry?"

"I am," she said. "But what if I don't like pizza?"

He couldn't help but be surprised by this question. "You don't like pizza?" he asked. "I think they have good salads too, but really? You don't like pizza?"

She laughed. "I'm just kidding! Of course I like pizza!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the restaurant. He shook his head, laughing, and followed her, thinking that she truly was something special.

Olivia approached the counter, and Fitz watched her as she started to talk with the owner of the pizzeria, Antonio. He came up behind Olivia, his arm going around her, his hand on her hip protectively. Antonio looked at him then and his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Fitzy!" He exclaimed. "What's going on?"

Fitz shook hands with Antonio. They were about the same age and knew each other from summers spent by the beach and boardwalk. Antonio had taken over the pizzeria from his father. "Antonio, this is my – Olivia. I was just telling her about your amazing pizza. We'll take a pie."

He looked down at Olivia, who was looking up at him. "I'm your Olivia?" she asked him in a low voice.

"You're my Livvie." He planted a kiss on her forehead.

Her smile was dazzling. "You're my Fitzy," she teased, and he laughed.

* * *

After what was definitely the best pizza she had ever had, Olivia and Fitz walked back towards his house, holding hands. "You know what we should do?" he asked her.

"What?"

"Have a picnic."

"You mean now?" she asked. "We just ate!"

"No, not now," he answered. "I want us to have a picnic one day. And sit on the beach under the stars. And hike in the woods. And go swimming when it's warm enough. And just so many other things."

He was looking into the sky as he spoke, as if he was worried she wouldn't agree to his ideas. She stepped in front of him and placed her hands on his face. He looked down at her and she smiled. "I want those things too," she told him.

"You do?" His gaze became intense and she felt herself melting.

"Of course I do," she assured him. "With you? I want everything."

He kissed her then and she moaned, a little surprised at her body's automatic reaction to him. He lifted her up a little as he kissed her and she wrapped her arms around him tightly, laughing. He set her back on her feet and took her hand. They walked back the rest of the way to the house, their pace faster than it had been before.

As soon as they were inside the house, Fitz had her pressed up against the patio door, his mouth on her neck and his hands on her waist. Her right hand landed in his hair, her fingers smoothing his curls. Her left hand went to the front of his pants, stroking him and smiling as he groaned. His thigh came up between her legs and she wantonly rubbed herself on him. He moved his mouth to hers and sucked hard on her lips. She kissed him back, passion making her desperate to feel more of him. She pushed him a bit and he moved backwards, his eyes opening to scan the room. They both seemed to spot the nearby couch at the same time, and when they made it close enough, Fitz sat down, pulling Olivia with him. Cradling her head, he laid her down, his body on top of hers.

Olivia felt as if her body was taken over by a sexier, more confident version of herself as she lifted her sweatshirt over her head and looked into Fitz's eyes as she reached behind her back to unfasten her bra. She pulled it off of her breasts, looking up at his desire-filled face, and her hands moved to his t-shirt, pulling it off of him and then pulling his chest into hers. "Oh, God," she gasped out as his chest hairs tickled over her nipples.

He slid down her body, unbuttoning her jeans and pulling them off, along with her underwear, and then he hovered over her, allowing her to pull off his pants in turn. She palmed his erection, feeling powerful at her ability to control his body. She moved out from underneath him and stood up. He looked at her questioningly. "Lay down," she told him, pointing. "On your back."

He listened, and she climbed back onto the couch, this time on top of him. She kissed his mouth, but then moved downwards, kissing his chest and his stomach and finally attaching her mouth to his hard length, sucking him, then releasing him and licking him up and down. It was his turn to gasp and moan, her name and a cry to God escaping his lips in a rush. Olivia took him back into her mouth, letting her jaw open to take in as much of him as possible. When she couldn't take him any farther, she added her fist beneath her lips and began moving up and down.

She was spurred on by his hips bucking under her, but then his hands hooked under her arms and pulled her back up to his mouth. He kissed her hard and at the same time, opened her legs over him and entered her. She let out a shriek at the sudden feeling of pleasure that over took her as he began pumping in and out of her. The previous times they had made love had felt amazing, but somehow this time it reached a whole new level. Fitz's hands went to Olivia's breasts and kneaded; her hands gripped his shoulders for support, her nails digging in as her head fell forwards and her climax exploded throughout her body.

She could feel that Fitz had let go as well and he gathered her to his chest, still thrusting in and out of her as they rode out their orgasms together.

After a few minutes of heavy breathing turning into relaxation, Olivia moved to nibble on his ear and run her fingers through his curls. "That was…"

"Amazing?" he finished for her.

"I was going to say 'Wow.' But it was definitely amazing. This whole day has been just perfect."

"It's not over yet, Livvie," he told her. He looked at his watch and smiled. "We still have three hours before we have to even get ready for dinner. What do you think? Hot tub first or do you want to see my bedroom?" He gave her his crooked, boyish grin and waggled his eyebrows. She laughed, then got up.

"Where's the bedroom?"

* * *

**AN: I wanted to write them one more fluffy day before they have to return to The Center, but it ended up long enough that I didn't even finish the whole day! I look forward to your feedback!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

Fitz was absolutely awed by Olivia. He had chased her deliciously naked body from the living room to the bedroom where he had spent his summers as a teenager. After another glorious round of love making, he grabbed a towel for himself and one for Olivia. He wrapped her up in the large, fluffy towel and brought her back outside, where he turned on the hot tub. He climbed in before her, and then reached for her. She sat between his legs, leaning back into his chest with a sigh.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, settling one hand on her breast and the other on her hip. He could not remember a time in his life that he had felt more content than he did at that moment. He nibbled a bit on her neck and on her ear and then just held her close for a while. When he felt her shifting in his arms, he loosened his grip, allowing her to turn and face him.

"I think we should talk about tomorrow," she said, and he felt a sense of dread wash over him.

"Back to the real world," he replied.

"Yeah." She kissed his face and he smiled weakly.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"First of all," she started and then paused, kissing him again. "We're going to have to act like nothing has changed between us. Like you're the principal and I'm the educational consultant and that's it."

He took a breath in. "Of course," he said.

"I'll meet with Abby first thing and we'll talk to the group home about how Amanda did over the weekend. Hopefully the social worker there got her to talk and we'll have a better idea of what's going on with her. We'll probably have a meeting with Amanda's case worker too and you'll be expected to be a part of that."

"Okay," he said.

It was as if she could look into his eyes and read his soul. "Fitz, don't worry. Just be honest and everyone will know you're telling the truth."

"You think?" he asked her. He wasn't so sure.

"Trust me," she said. "I'm going to make this right for you."

He sighed and kissed her. "I love you, Livvie," he said, without even thinking. It came out naturally and he realized too late that it was possible she didn't feel the same way. He felt her stiffen in his arms and watched her eyes widen as she took in his confession. "Oh God, I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I just – "

"Fitz," she interrupted.

"Yes, Livvie?"

"Do you mean it?"

"Yes."

He stared into her eyes as she moved closer to him and pressed her lips into his. His hands went to the sides of her face and his tongue sought entrance to her mouth. Her mouth opened and their tongues collided, the passion in her kiss like nothing he had felt before. When she drew back, he could see the emotion in her eyes.

"I love you, too," she breathed.

His instinct was to stand up and shout to the world that his Livvie loved him too, but instead he pulled her back into a continuation of their previous kiss. He suddenly didn't know what to do with himself as his heart felt like it would burst and he wanted her again so badly that his thoughts were jumbled in his head and he didn't know if he should take her right there in the hot tub or bring her back into the house first.

Olivia made the decision for him as she ground her body into him and feeling his readiness for her, took hold of his erection and lowered her body onto his. He gasped at her boldness and gripped the back of her neck as she began to move on him. She was looking right into his eyes and he felt like he was drowning. She placed her fingers on his lips, tracing his mouth until he parted his lips and licked the pad of her index finger. He sucked the tips of her fingers into his mouth and he was rewarded with a moan and the sight of her head falling back in pleasure.

He moved his mouth to her neck, latching his lips to the smooth skin there that he loved so much. He moved his hand to her center and stroked her, letting her movements set his pace. He could feel her moving faster and breathing harder and he whispered to her encouragingly. "That's right, Livvie, don't stop." The water splashed along with their rhythm and Olivia's moans turned into cries. Fitz felt himself approaching oblivion and he moved his head lower and licked her nipples, listening to her scream out his name. Her body clenching around him brought him over the edge after her and once again he gathered her close to him. "I love you so much," he told her. She shivered and he lifted her out of the hot tub, grabbing the towel he had left nearby and wrapping them both in it.

Olivia started to laugh at him as he struggled to maneuver with the towel around them and her in his arms, so he set her back down and allowed her to hold her own towel. He grabbed the other towel for himself and wrapped it at his waist. "I think I'll take a shower now," Olivia told him.

He smiled at her, thinking happily of her insatiability thus far, and imagining she was ready for a break from him. But her eyes told a different story and her hand was reaching for his chest, rubbing along his muscles as she licked her lips.

"Care to join me?" she asked over her shoulder, as she headed towards the bathroom.

It was his turn to lick his lips and he followed her eagerly. He was so in love, he would follow her anywhere.

* * *

Olivia had never showered with a man before. She had never had the self-confidence to allow someone to view her in such a state of physical vulnerability. With Fitz, she wanted him with her, she wanted him to see her. And she also wanted to see him. Standing in front of her now, Fitz was by far the sexiest specimen she had ever laid her eyes upon. From his amazing curly, silky hair, to his sculpted chest and abdomen muscles, to his strong arms and legs, to his lips and tongue and hands and fingers, every part of him was beautiful to her.

The depths of pleasure he had brought to her that weekend were beyond anything she had dreamt of previously. She wasn't ready to spend time apart from him and although she had spoken confidently about returning to The Center, she was nervous. She wasn't sure how she would look at Fitz and not reveal everything she felt for him, how she would hold herself together without touching him. But this lack of control wasn't like her. She knew she could be strong, she just had to pull herself together.

Olivia reached for the shower gel she had brought with her. When she and Fitz had stepped into the shower, they had stood under the spray of the water, but neither had moved for soap or shampoo. Even though Olivia was having difficulty concentrating, she was under the impression that the task at hand still involved getting clean, so she was slightly surprised when Fitz took the shower gel from her. She realized his intent as she watched him squeezing a bit into his hand and reaching to smooth it over her body. He started with her arms, rubbing her gently from her shoulders to her fingers, and she felt herself relaxing under his touch. Next, he soaped her back, massaging her shoulders and tracing her spine lightly. He kneaded her bottom with both hands and she bit her lip to stop a moan from escaping her. She wasn't sure she could take another sexual encounter so soon, but the way he was touching her was definitely turning her on.

Taking more shower gel, Fitz bent down and began washing Olivia's feet. His large hands pressed into her toes and the arch of her foot and she groaned at the feeling, her hand meeting his hair. He looked up at her and smirked. "You okay?" he asked. She could only nod. He continued his motions up one leg and then down the other, skipping her center completely. His hand splayed across her stomach, rubbing gentle circles around her navel and over her ribs. Then his fingers moved over her breasts and her nipples and settled on her collar bone as he dipped his face to hers and kissed her.

Olivia's arms automatically went to his shoulders as she returned his kiss. With the water pouring down on them, their kiss felt like wet heat. Olivia couldn't tell where her mouth ended and his began. He pulled back first, smiling at her. "I wasn't finished washing you," he said, his deep voice echoing and making her weak with want.

Fitz's hand dropped between her thighs and met her throbbing folds. Olivia gripped his shoulders as he began to stroke her, gently at first and then with increasing pressure, his fingers moving in and out of her body, his thumb circling her clit expertly. He used his other arm to support her around her waist. She kissed him wherever she could reach, which was mostly his chest but when he bent lower she reached his neck as well. When she came, it was intense. She bit down on his skin and he jumped a little, but she felt his arm around her waist holding her up even so.

When her breathing had evened out, she looked up at Fitz in amazement. "I never knew it could be like this," she told him.

His face broke into a brilliant smile and he kissed her gently. "It can be and it should be," he answered.

She reached for the soap. "My turn," she said, returning his kiss.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by too quickly for Fitz, as he was definitely dreading his imminent separation from Olivia. Unfortunately, she was unwilling to sleep at his place that night, using the excuse that she had not brought clothing for the following day at work. He tried to convince her that she could wear the outfit she had worn out to dinner with him – a form fitting dark grey dress which tied at the waist – but she had only laughed at the suggestion. She had, however, agreed that he could pick her up in the morning and drive her to The Center, being that her car would not be fixed for a few more days. He had assured her that anyone seeing them arriving together would understand that her car was unavailable and that she had innocently asked him for a ride, as he did not live far from her house.

He hadn't slept well, suddenly needing Olivia's warm body beside his to get him through the night. Therefore, it was relatively early when he pulled up in front of her house. He was about to call or text her to let her know he was there, not wanting to go to the door in case she wasn't ready, when she came outside. Wearing a white blouse and tailored grey pants, she looked completely put together. Her hair was straight again. It had been curly the day before. He couldn't decide which way he liked it better, but he definitely wanted to touch it.

The ride to school was quiet. Fitz kept wanting to ask Olivia what she was thinking and whether she was okay, but he settled on just holding her hand lightly in his own. When they arrived, Olivia walked slightly ahead of him, looking around the parking lot to see that none of the teachers or staff members were watching. She glanced back at him once and he tried to smile, but in reality he felt a little like crying. Once inside, he spotted Jake coming from his classroom and he waved him over. "Got a minute?" he said.

Olivia glanced at him again but said nothing, heading off towards Abby's office. Fitz hadn't told her about his plan to confront Jake. Maybe he should have, but he hadn't.

Fitz waved Jake into a seat in his office as he set his things down behind his desk. "Have a good weekend?" Fitz asked, as if he cared.

"Sure, how about you?" Jake answered.

"Mostly very good," Fitz replied, smirking a little. "I wanted to ask you about a few things."

"Go ahead," Jake said.

"Do you have something to do with Amanda Tanner's accusations against me?" The question came out in a rush. Although he had meant to lead up to it somehow, he blurted it out.

"What?" Jake had the decency to look surprised. "What would I have had to do with that?"

"I don't know, Mr. Ballard," Fitz said. "You're her teacher. You know her better than many of the other staff here. And you definitely seem to have a vendetta against me."

Jake rolled his eyes a bit. "Amanda does what she wants to do," he said. "Her biggest interest is herself. And her boyfriend, of course. If anyone encouraged her to accuse you of anything, it was him."

Fitz ran his hand through his hair. "Okay. So tell me why you're gossiping with Mellie about Olivia."

"Ah, did Mellie speak to you?" Jake grinned.

"You knew she would go straight to me," Fitz said. "What were you trying to accomplish exactly?"

"Why do you care? Mellie said you're not interested in Olivia." Jake's voice came out as a taunt.

"I care because Olivia is a person. A person with feelings. She's not a news story or someone on a TV show that you gossip about with your friends. I will not stand for you spreading rumors about anyone on the staff, especially someone you barely know and obviously know nothing about!" Fitz tried to keep his voice calm, but he could tell his anger was coming out.

"You sure you're not interested in her?" Jake asked him with a smirk.

Fitz glared at him. "You're getting out of line here, Ballard," he said. "Don't forget I'm your boss. You'd better head out and meet the busses." He pointed to the door, indicating the conversation was over.

Fitz sat down, his head falling into his hands. If he could fire Jake for the comments he made outside of work, he certainly would. He wondered if he could fire him for rudeness.

* * *

Jake left Fitz's office seething. The two had started as first-year teachers at the same time, but Fitz had been pursuing his doctorate degree and when he had finished, he had become the principal. Ever since, Jake had felt a bitterness towards Fitz that he wasn't quite able to control.

Jake headed to Olivia's office. Jake was tired of beating around the bush. He had gone to Mellie with the information about Olivia hoping to use it to scare away Grant. He knew Grant had gotten the message, but he didn't know whether he'd succeeded in scaring him away from Olivia. He was ready to go directly to the source. He was ready to make his move. Jake entered Olivia's office. Since she wasn't a permanent member of the staff, her office was no bigger than a closet. Inside was a desk and two chairs and there was little room for anything else. Olivia wasn't there. Jake took a seat, closing the door behind him, and propped his feet up on the desk, settling in to wait for her return.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Alright, I'm not sure where to go after this one, so let me know what you think. Trigger warning for minor abuse in this one.**

As she had promised Fitz, Olivia headed directly to Abby's office after arriving at school. She stood, hovering over Abby, who was on the phone. Abby looked at her curiously, obviously wondering why Olivia was hovering, and finished her phone call.

To Olivia's raised eyebrows, Abby said, "That was David from the boys' group home. They have a new resident coming in today."

"Oh," Olivia answered, knowing that the intake for new students should be important to her, but really only caring about Fitz's situation. "Have you heard from Amanda's social worker yet?"

Abby looked closely at Olivia. "What's going on, Liv?" she asked. "You look – different."

Olivia shrugged, trying hard not to blush. "Actually, I had a car accident on Saturday. I'm a little shaken from it still."

"Oh no!" Abby said. "Are you okay? I mean physically?"

"Yeah, I'm doing fine now."

"I totally didn't think something like that had happened to you. I was thinking more along the lines of a sexual encounter."

"Abby!" Olivia blurted. "Don't be silly."

Abby laughed. "No really, Liv. You look refreshed. And happy."

Olivia shook her head, indicating that she didn't plan to answer Abby's questions.

Abby sighed. "Alright, let's go ahead and give Clare a call and see how Amanda's weekend was. Hopefully it wasn't as exciting as yours was."

Olivia rolled her eyes and took a seat beside Abby as she dialed Amanda's social worker.

"Hey Clare, it's Abby," Abby said, switching the phone to speaker mode. "I'm here with Olivia, our educational consultant working with Dr. Grant right now. We wanted to see how Amanda did this weekend."

"Hi Abby, Olivia," Clare greeted. "I have to say things with Amanda went better than I expected. I thought she might try to sneak out to see Billy, but she basically stayed in bed most of Saturday. Yesterday she hung out with the other girls and generally behaved."

"Hmm," Abby commented. "Must have wanted to put on a good impression to get some of her restrictions lessened."

"Yeah, she really wants to spend more time with Billy. Honestly, it's him that I'm most concerned about. I don't think he's good for Amanda at all."

"I would agree with that. Did Amanda say anything more about what happened with Dr. Grant on Friday?" Abby asked.

"We did discuss the situation quite a bit," Clare said. Olivia leaned forward. "Amanda's story is that she went in to talk to Dr. Grant and when she asked him if he would allow Billy to visit her at The Center, he started talking about her looks and then grabbed her hand, which is when she ran out of his office."

Abby looked at Olivia, who spoke up. "On Friday Amanda said Fi- Dr. Grant tried to touch her sexually. Grabbing her hand doesn't sound sexual to me."

"Depends on the intent, of course," Clare said.

"Yes, but Dr. Grant seemed completely shocked by Amanda's accusations. I have serious doubts that his intent was sexual."

"I suppose we should hear his side of the story," interrupted Abby. "We can guess at what happened, or we can ask him."

"Sure, but won't it be her word against his?" Olivia asked.

"Dr. Grant has a very good reputation with the group homes and the state caseworkers," Clare stated. "As long as Amanda's accusations remain on the 'he grabbed my hand' level, I don't think Dr. Grant will see any kind of repercussions from this."

"Alright, should we set up a team meeting then?" Abby asked.

"Sure, I'll give Sally Langston a call and we'll arrange a time to come to The Center later today. We'll meet with you and Dr. Grant, and then with Amanda, and possibly have them speak to each other with us present to smooth things over between them," Clare responded.

"Sounds good, Clare, thanks," Abby said and ended the call. She looked at Olivia. "Okay?" she asked.

Olivia pursed her lips. "It sounds like it should work out," she commented. "Is Sally Langston Amanda's caseworker?"

"Yeah, she's known Amanda for quite a long time," Abby answered.

"Thanks, Abby," Olivia said. "Could you let me know what time the meeting will be?"

"Sure," Abby agreed with a smile. Then she added, "So, you're not going to tell me how the big date went?"

Olivia had forgotten that Abby even knew she was supposed to have a date with Fitz on Friday. "After everything that went on with Amanda, he wasn't in the mood to go," she said. It was the truth, after all.

Abby nodded. "Alright. I guess you'll talk when you're ready!"

Olivia laughed. "I'll be in my office," she said.

"Not Fitz's office?" Abby teased.

Olivia shook her head and left, heading quickly from Abby's office in the elementary school wing to her own in the high school wing, avoiding the main office in the middle.

Olivia opened the door to her office and fumbled for the light switch. Instead, her arm was grabbed and she was pulled into the office, the door closing behind her. She was greeted by a male voice. "Hello, Olivia."

Gasping in surprise, Olivia hit the light switch and revealed Jake Ballard. "Mr. Ballard!" she exclaimed. "You scared me. What are you doing in here?"

"Waiting for you," he answered, standing. "And please, call me Jake."

Olivia's heart was pounding from being startled and she was confused as to why Jake had been sitting in her office in the dark, but she tried to ignore the bad feeling she had by removing her arm from his grasp. Her bad feeling only intensified when Jake gripped her arm tighter, her attempt to free herself useless against his strength. "Mr. Ballard. Let go of my arm," Olivia ordered him.

"Not until you agree to dinner with me," Jake said in a voice that Olivia assumed he meant to be flirtatious. It was actually frightening.

"Are you serious?" Olivia asked, wrenching at her arm again and then wincing at the pain that shot from her wrist to her elbow. She tried to turn back to the office door and open it, in hopes someone would be in the hallway and cause Jake to let go, but he just yanked her back towards him.

"Very serious," he answered. "I've been wanting to ask you out since the day I first saw you," he said creepily. "Am I too late, Olivia? Did Grant already win you over with his doctorate and his charm? He's just the kind of guy you like. Older than you. Your boss."

Olivia's mind flashed to Fitz's words the other morning. Had Jake been the one Fitz had been talking to about her? Were they actually friends?

"No, no, of course not," Olivia said, hoping that denying her relationship with Fitz would encourage Jake to loosen his grip on her. Instead, it seemed to encourage him further. In a quick move that she was too scared to anticipate, he stepped between her and the door and captured her other hand in his as well. His face lowered towards hers.

"Come on, Olivia," Jake said. "How about dinner tonight?"

"Mr. Ballard. Jake," Olivia tried to make her voice strong. "You absolutely need to let go of me right now. And if you think this is the way to encourage a woman to go out with you, then it's no wonder you aren't currently dating anyone."

Jake's eyes flashed at her angrily and she felt a new wave of fear. She was sure Jake had anger control problems, and now she had instigated him further.

"I've done my research on you, Olivia," Jake snarled. "You've done your share of dating – or should I say sleeping – around. So why not with me then?" Olivia just looked at him, too shocked to answer. "Tell me!" Jake said, and Olivia jumped. At that moment, there was a quick knock at the door. "Act normal," Jake hissed, releasing her, as the door opened and Abby poked her head in.

"Olivia," Abby said, not really looking at her. "I scheduled the meeting for 11."

Olivia tried desperately to catch Abby's eye. To give her some sort of a sign. "Okay, Abigail," she said, the use of Abby's full name meant to get Abby to look at her more closely. It worked.

Abby's eyes flew to Olivia's. She looked at Jake, then back to Olivia. Olivia willed her not to say anything, but also not to leave them alone. Abby opened Olivia's office door all the way. "It's so stuffy in here, Liv," she said. "How do you stand it?"

Olivia didn't answer. Jake looked between the two women and said, "Think about what I said, Liv." He turned and left the office.

Abby was at Olivia's side immediately. "What just happened?" she asked.

Olivia shook her head and slowly sank into one of her desk chairs. "I honestly don't know. Is Jake crazy or something?"

"What?" Abby laughed, looking out the door as if Jake was still standing there. He wasn't. She looked back at Olivia, who was rubbing the newly formed bruises on her arms. "Liv?" she said. "Did he hurt you?"

Olivia felt her body begin to shake. "Abby," she said in a low voice. "I think I need to talk to Fitz."

* * *

Fitz was pacing his office when Abby burst in. Fitz had worked with Abby for two years and had rarely seen her flustered. He could tell by looking at her that something was wrong. "What happened now?" he asked her, expecting another crisis with one of the students.

"You have to come," Abby said. "It's Olivia. Jake. Something happened. I don't know."

"Wait," Fitz said. "Something happened to Olivia?" At Abby's nod, he asked, "Something with Jake?"

"I don't know, I think he hurt her."

"He WHAT?!" Fitz boomed, practically pushing Abby over as he hurried out of his office. "Where is she?"

"Her office," Abby answered, hurrying after him.

Fitz recalled rushing down this same hallway just over a week ago when Abby had been slapped by a student. He had been upset then, but now he was livid.

He wasn't sure what he expected to see when he entered Olivia's office, but it definitely wasn't the sight that met him. Olivia was curled into a ball, as small as she could get herself, on the floor beside the desk. She was staring at the wall opposite. As much as she had looked perfectly put together when he had picked her up that morning, she now looked completely thrown apart. Her face was tear streaked and her hair was disheveled, but worst of all was the series of bruises running down her arms. The left side was worse than the right, but both arms were bruised with the shape of fingerprints. Olivia looked worse than she had when he had met her in the hospital after her accident.

He knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her. To his dismay, she seemed to fold into herself even further. He looked at Abby in absolute shock. "What the hell?" he mouthed. Abby looked just as confused as he felt. "Olivia?" he said, trying to get her to respond to him. "Livvie?" Still no answer. "Do you need to see a doctor?" he asked. This earned him a quick shake of her head. Fitz unwrapped himself from Olivia and stood up. "Abby, stay with her," he ordered.

He strode out of the office and towards Jake's classroom, taking deep breaths to try to calm himself. He wanted to punch Jake right in the face for whatever he had done to Olivia, but he obviously couldn't do that in front of the students.

Entering Jake's classroom, Fitz saw Harrison in the front of the room instead. Glancing around at the students, he noticed Amanda, but his eyes continued sweeping the room. It appeared that Harrison's class had combined with Jake, and Harrison was teaching all of them, with Tom keeping watch as well. Fitz motioned to Harrison, who approached him. "Where's Ballard?" Fitz hissed.

"He said he had to get out of here," Harrison answered. "I assumed you knew. He asked me to cover his class."

"Well, good thing he didn't leave the kids alone," Fitz muttered, turning away from Harrison. "Thanks for stepping in," he added. "If you hear from Jake, let me know."

Turning on his heel, he was back to Olivia's office in no time. Fitz removed his suit jacket and sat down on the floor beside Olivia. "I got this," he told Abby, and she nodded, leaving the office and closing the door. Fitz once again wrapped his arms around Olivia. "It's okay, Baby," he told her. "I'm here."

She fell into him then, her body shaking with sobs. He stroked her hair and held her, not knowing what else he could do.

After a while, he asked her if she could tell him what happened, and she began murmuring against him. He understood her words, but he wasn't quite sure what she was trying to express. "Didn't know," she said. "Sociopath. Scared. Not supposed to be weak. And Abby came in. So sorry. This is all my fault!" The last bit was accompanied by another sob.

"Livvie," Fitz said. "This is NOT your fault." He was reminded of her telling him the same thing about her car accident and he couldn't help but think that this was actually his fault; that something about his conversation with Jake that morning had led Jake to hurt Olivia.

Olivia drew back and looked at him. "Fitz, he grabbed my arm. That's exactly what Amanda is saying you did to her!"

"It is?" Fitz was a little surprised by this bit of news. He thought about it for a minute. "First of all, your arms are covered in bruises. Jake hurt you! I did grab Amanda's arm – well, I think her hand – to stop her from touching me. There's a big difference there, Livvie."

Olivia looked at her arm as if just noticing her bruises. Fitz lowered his head and began to kiss the spots, wishing he could vanish them with his touch. "Livvie," he said in a choked voice, "God, I am so sorry this happened to you."

"Me too," she said sadly, burying her head back against Fitz's chest.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Thank you to crabapplect for the idea for the first part of this chapter. To the guest who said she was hoping I wouldn't go the sexual assault route - I don't think I did!**

Olivia was having a hard time letting Fitz comfort her. While she loved having him with her and having his large arms encircle her to keep her safe, she felt extremely disappointed in the fact that she had been unable to avoid this situation in the first place. She was supposed to be strong, not weak. Not a person a male could prey on. She was upset that the reason she was still at The Center was to help Fitz with Amanda and instead he was once again helping her instead of her helping him.

There was something niggling her brain; something that Fitz had said that she thought she could use, but she couldn't focus. Her heart rate kept picking up and her throat kept clenching with tears, especially when Fitz stroked her back or her hair or kissed her gently, letting her know he was with her. Finally, she gave up. She moved herself out of his arms and stood up. He was on his feet beside her in an instant, asking if she was okay.

Olivia took a deep breath. "I'm okay," she said. "I need a few minutes to myself to think. And then I want to talk to Amanda."

Fitz looked at her, a confused expression on his face, but when she gave him a weak smile, he nodded. "Okay," he said. He turned and walked out of her office. Olivia was briefly worried that he was upset with her, but decided she would talk to him later and concentrate on herself for the moment.

Olivia paced her office, the small space not conducive to pacing, but she thought best when walking and she did not want to leave her office yet. Her thoughts were everywhere, but mostly on one thing. She had bruises. Amanda did not.

About ten minutes later, there was a small knock at her door. When Amanda came in, she looked scared. Olivia did not consider herself to be scary, but Amanda had been through a lot and probably did not trust most adults, so Olivia could understand her look of fear.

Once Amanda was sitting and Olivia was beside her with her arms crossed and hiding her bruises, Olivia began. "Amanda, I think you know that it's never okay for someone to hurt someone else, especially for an adult to hurt a child."

"I'm not a child," Amanda clarified, her face showing she hated to be called one.

Olivia tried again. "This morning, something happened to me," she said.

Amanda looked up curiously.

"Someone hurt me," Olivia said, struggling to keep her voice from breaking. "He held on to me and he wouldn't let me go. I thought he would hurt me even more than he did, but luckily he got interrupted. But – " Olivia uncrossed her arms and allowed Amanda to see the bruises.

Amanda didn't say anything, but Olivia could see her eyes fill with – something. Whether it was fear, or shock, or sympathy, Olivia wasn't sure.

"Amanda, has anyone ever hurt you like this?" Olivia asked, knowing in a way it was manipulative, but needing to communicate with the girl.

"No!" Amanda answered quickly. Too quickly. "Well, not recently."

Olivia looked at her, waiting for more.

"I lived in a lot of foster homes when I was younger," Amanda said. "In one of them, there was a kid who liked to beat up on me. But it was a long time ago."

Olivia nodded. "Is there anyone who you are scared of?"

"No," Amanda answered.

"Good," Olivia said. "Being scared is an awful feeling. I was scared today."

Amanda looked down at Olivia's arms again. Then she looked back into Olivia's eyes. Olivia willed her to understand what this was all about before she had to spell it out for her.

Finally, Olivia sighed. "Amanda, what happened with Dr. Grant on Friday?" she asked.

Amanda's eyes immediately showed panic. And then realization.

"Did he hurt you, Amanda?" Olivia asked.

Amanda started shaking her head, her eyes on Olivia's arms and then on Olivia's face. "He didn't hurt me," she whispered.

Olivia nodded, her hand reaching towards Amanda's. Amanda jumped in her chair, as if Olivia was reaching for her with fire. Olivia withdrew her hand. "So what happened?" she asked quietly.

"It was Billy's idea," Amanda said. Olivia thought that might be all she said, but then she continued. "He told me that I could convince Dr. Grant to do what I wanted if I flirted with him a little. And Billy would be so mad if he knew it didn't work. I actually didn't mean to get Dr. Grant in trouble." This last part came out in a rush and Olivia felt her hopes lift. She thought maybe, just maybe, she could save Fitz.

"Amanda," she said. "There's a meeting happening soon between Ms. Whelan and your social worker and your caseworker from the state. They're going to talk to Dr. Grant about whether he hurt you and whether you need to move to a new school. Do you think you could tell them that he didn't hurt you?"

"You can tell them," Amanda muttered under her breath.

"No," Olivia said. "It has to come from you." Olivia looked at Amanda carefully. Then, "I know you're scared," she said. "I know you messed up, and now you're afraid you'll look like a child if you take it back. But people make mistakes too, Amanda. And this mistake? If you don't make it right, it could really hurt Dr. Grant. And it could also hurt you. You've been doing well here and you're safe here. Who knows where else you could wind up if you have to switch schools?" Amanda nodded, as if agreeing; as if she understood the concept of hurting someone else; as if she wasn't hurt by others her whole life. And Olivia understood that, she did, but she needed to fix this for Fitz. "I'll be there with you, if you want," Olivia told the girl, trying to be empathetic.

Olivia was ignoring somewhere else she had to be; something else she had to do to help herself before she could help anyone else. She knew she couldn't ignore it for much longer, but she wasn't sure how long it would take. She would have to wait until later. She also had no way to get anywhere, and she wondered if she should ask Abby for a ride. Olivia had to file a police report. She wouldn't let Jake hurt anyone else; she had to be the one to stop him.

* * *

When Fitz left Olivia's office, he returned to Harrison, who had not yet heard from Jake. Fitz's mind was reeling. He had never known Jake to be violent. He had excused Jake's behavior on the basketball court as an accident, but now he was beginning to think it may not have been one after all. As mad as he was about what Jake had done to Olivia, Fitz couldn't help but worry about Jake. Where was he now? Was he having a mental break? Had he kept all of his anger bottled up inside of him until he snapped? What if he had hurt one of the students? Obviously, now Fitz had grounds to fire the man. The first thing he did when he returned to his office was to call the state department that was in control of the school to report the incident to them.

Next, he went to speak to Abby. He wanted to know exactly what she had seen, what Olivia said to her, what her take was on where Jake might be now. Abby was on the phone and Fitz dropped himself dramatically into the chair beside her desk. She gave him a look that was a mixture of amusement and annoyance so he returned her look with an eye roll and a motion of his arm to indicate he wanted her to hurry up her phone call.

When Abby finally hung up, she just looked at him, as if waiting for him to be the one to start the conversation.

"Abby…" Fitz started. Apparently that was enough for Abby.

"Do you remember the day you met us for drinks?" Abby asked him.

He nodded. "Of course."

"We were talking before you got there and Quinn asked Olivia about Jake." Fitz's eyebrows went up questioningly. "She had no interest in him at all. It was like she never even looked at him. And then today, when I saw him in her office, I wondered if I'd gotten that wrong. If maybe there was something between them." Fitz was shaking his head at her words. "No," Abby said. "I was right the first time. It's you. She only has eyes for you."

"Do you think she's okay?" Fitz asked.

"I think she'll be okay," Abby answered. "She seemed a little traumatized. But I think she's strong."

"I want to kill Jake," Fitz confided.

Abby shook her head. "I can't imagine what he was thinking," she told him.

There was a knock on Abby's door then, and Olivia entered. "I handled Amanda," she said. "It's handled."

"What does that mean?" Fitz asked, gazing up at her.

"It means I talked to her and she's going to tell Clare and Sally that you didn't hurt her," Olivia said. She smiled a little, meeting his eyes for the first time. Fitz felt his heart beat a little quicker at the way her eyes held his.

"Do you two need a minute?" Abby asked with a small giggle.

Olivia looked away from Fitz first and he grinned at the blush that rose to her cheeks. He reached for Olivia's hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

Gently, Olivia removed her hand from his. Fitz frowned. "Abby, can you give me a ride to the police station after the Amanda meeting?" Olivia asked.

"I can take you," Fitz said quickly.

Olivia glanced back towards him and he noticed the color had left her cheeks. "I think I'd rather go with Abby, if that's okay with you," she said, her voice quiet.

Fitz was confused, but just nodded his agreement. "Alright, I'll see you in the Amanda meeting," he said, referring to the meeting the way Olivia had, and enjoying the hint of intimacy implied in sharing her phrase. He left Abby's office to return to his.

As Fitz passed Mellie's desk, she was quick to greet him. "How was your weekend?" she chirped. Fitz felt a flash of anger. Mellie's phone calls over the weekend had started the chain of drama that had led up to Olivia being hurt.

Not answering her question, Fitz said, "You and Jake are close friends now?"

Mellie giggled. "Not really," she said. "We hung out on Friday."

"Mmm hmm," Fitz replied. "Did he seem off to you at all?" Fitz couldn't help it – he was still concerned about Jake's state of mind.

"He was okay," Mellie said. "Just a little overly concerned about Olivia."

Sounds about right, Fitz thought to himself. "Have you seen him today?" he asked.

"Nope!" Mellie said, making a popping sound on the P in the word.

"Alright, look," Fitz said. "First of all, please don't call me on the weekend again unless you have to tell me something about one of the students. And by something I mean something important. Also, you shouldn't believe everything you hear."

Mellie looked a little confused. Then she had the decency to look embarrassed. Fitz turned and walked into his office, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Handling things was Olivia's job. So she ignored the emotions threatening to consume her – the memory of Fitz's strong arms holding her and Jake's clammy hands squeezing her, Abby's look of shock hidden by empathy, her manipulation of Amanda to do what she wanted – and concentrated on handling.

The so-called Amanda meeting went quickly. Amanda did as she said she would and told Sally Langston – a no-nonsense type of woman who scolded Amanda for making up stories, as if she was a six-year-old and not a sixteen-year-old – that Fitz hadn't hurt her. The meeting was adjourned with Sally going to speak to Fitz in his office, leaving Olivia and Abby to handle their next order of business – filing a police report.

Although Olivia had called in multiple allegations of abuse to the state in the past, she had never yet had to make a report in person, much less a report regarding herself and not one of her clients. Abby proved to be a great support, answering questions about Jake when Olivia could not. Olivia managed to hold herself together, and when they were finished at the police station she asked Abby to drive her home.

Once finally alone, Olivia took a long, hot shower, trying to wash away the memories of that morning. It didn't quite work, so she dressed in a cami and underwear and climbed into bed. After tossing and turning a bit, she drifted into a fitful sleep, awakening hours later to the sound of pouring rain slamming into her roof and a loud knocking at her front door. Pulling on her robe, she sleepily pulled the door open to find Fitz, thoroughly soaked by the rain and looking as forlorn as she felt.

He gave her a small smile. "Hi," he said.

She replied, "Hi."


	15. Chapter 15

All Fitz could do was stare at the beauty in front of him. She had obviously been sleeping, but to him she'd never looked more beautiful. Her hair was pulled up and her face was bare of makeup. Her robe was short and showed off her long, smooth legs. He felt himself begin to shiver as he looked at her.

"Did you walk here or something?" Olivia asked, breaking the silence between them and gesturing to his rain soaked hair and body.

He pointed to his car, parked on her curb. "It's raining so hard I was drenched in seconds," he explained with a grin. He gave his head a shake and drops splashed off his hair, which made Olivia laugh.

"Come on," she said, reaching for his hand and pulling him into the house. Before he knew what she was planning, she had unbuttoned his dress shirt and slid her hands under the white t-shirt he wore underneath, rubbing circles onto his chest and leaving trails of heat everywhere she touched.

Fitz removed her hands from his shirt gently. "Wait, Livvie," he said softly.

"What?" she said, sounding hurt.

"I want to talk to you," he told her.

"You want to talk?" she laughed harshly, turning away from him and sitting down on her couch.

He walked over to her and sat down beside her. "Livvie…" He took a breath. "Livvie, are you okay?" He touched her hand tentatively but she moved away.

She shot him a look, then focused her gaze on something across the room.

"Don't do that," he said softly.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't shut me out," he said, reaching for her again. His hand brushed the edge of her robe and the part of her thigh exposed beneath it. He wasn't sure which was silkier.

"Fitz…" The way she breathed his name made him feel bold and he stroked her leg gently. She didn't move away this time.

"I want to thank you, Livvie," he said.

"For?" She said it monotonously, as if she had no reason to be thanked.

"For what you said to Amanda."

She just nodded.

"I also want to apologize to you."

"Oh?" This she seemed interested in.

"I should have warned you about Jake," he said.

Olivia moved away from him. "You mean you knew you had a psycho working for you?" she spat out.

"God, no, Livvie," Fitz said. "I had no idea."

"Then what do you mean you should have warned me?"

"I knew he was interested in you. I knew he did some research on your background because he knew about your past relationships."

"Is he the one who told you I had a thing for older men?" Olivia asked, sounding incredulous.

"Not exactly," Fitz answered. "He told Mellie and Mellie told me."

"You talked to Mellie while we were together on Saturday?" she asked.

"Yeah," Fitz said. "You were in the shower. I'm sorry. I should have told you."

Olivia shook her head and looked away. "I heard you and Mellie dated," she said.

Fitz laughed. "I wouldn't say we dated. We went out a few times. She's very persistent."

Olivia smiled a little. Then she frowned again. "I just…" she hesitated. "I hate being weak," she whispered.

"Hey," he said, reaching for her chin and gently lifting her face towards his. "You are anything but weak, Liv," he told her. He kissed her gently and watched her eyes fill with tears.

"This isn't me," she said. "I don't crash my car and get attacked and need help all the time."

"You've been hurting and all you want is to take care of me," he said. "To fix things for me. You're not weak. You're perfect. You're…everything."

"I hate that I keep crying and you keep having to comfort me," she said, and he could hear that she was trying to keep her voice steady.

"I love you," he said. "I'm in love with you. I need you. And if you need me, I'm here." His thumbs moved over her cheeks which were now wet with tears.

"I do need you," she whispered, and he could sense that this was hard for her to admit. Her eyes closed as he moved one hand to her back, moving her gently against his chest so he could hold her.

He felt her shiver and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I am so sorry," he said, his throat tightening as he allowed himself to think of the day's events.

She took a deep breath and sighed. "Even if I knew, even if you told me Jake was interested in me, there was nothing I could have done. He was sitting in my office in the dark. He took me totally by surprise." She spoke into his chest and Fitz could barely hear her.

"I know, Baby," he said.

Olivia drew back and looked at him. "I'm scared," she said.

Fitz couldn't help but to kiss her again. He covered her face with kisses, trying to show her how he felt about her through gentle touches of affection all over her beautiful face. "I'm here now," he whispered. "I'm here."

Fitz looked straight into Olivia's huge brown eyes. One hand went to her cheek and the other to her hip. Slowly, he brought his lips to hers. He tried to keep it gentle, but soon he felt her melting into him, opening her mouth to him and drawing him in. He moved his hand along her cheek, along her jaw line, and down to the smooth skin of her neck, which was displayed with her hair pulled back as it was. He continued his hand's journey down the side of her body, along the curve of her breast and onto her hip. Tugging her towards him, he lifted her body on top of his, into his lap, and she straddled him, grinding herself into him deliciously. She put her hands in his now drying hair and moved her nails along his scalp. He groaned, opening his eyes to see her again. Her face was on level with his and he gazed at her plump lips before kissing her more.

Breaking the kiss, he turned his attention to her arms. He feathered kisses up and down her right forearm, wishing again that he could make her bruises disappear. As he turned his head to kiss her left forearm, she grabbed his face with both hands. "Stop," she said.

"Stop?" he repeated.

"It's okay. Just…let's pretend this didn't happen. Let's just be me and you and – us." And then she kissed him hard on the mouth, her arms moving around his neck, her legs tightening around his waist. He held her until she pushed back from him yet again. He took a breath, not wanting to do anything she didn't want him to do, but wanting her so badly it hurt.

Fitz watched as she stood in front of him, her hands returning to his face and gently caressing his jaw. Then she turned and walked towards her bedroom, looking back at him and motioning for him to follow. He stood up and caught up with her, his hands moving around her body and his lips latching onto her neck as she led him into her room. Once they were inside, she turned to him and he untied her robe, letting it drop off of her and leaving her in a silk cami and matching underwear. The light blue color of the set next to her deep brown skin was nothing short of exquisite. He reached for her as he licked his lips in anticipation.

With his thumbs on her breasts and his fingers around her sides, Fitz pulled Olivia flush to his body. He groaned as he massaged her nipples, leaning to kiss her and walking her backwards to her bed. Once they reached the edge of the mattress, she sat and he moved over her, lying her down and running his hand down her body until he reached her silk covered heat. He began to stroke her, moving his hand up and down and around and enjoying her whimpers, which soon turned to moans.

Fitz moved his mouth from Olivia's mouth to her neck to her ear. "You are beautiful, Livvie," he whispered to her. "You are amazing."

"Fitz, please," she said, and he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He buried his nose in her neck and breathed in her intoxicating scent, before pulling away to finally remove his shirt.

Her hands moved over his chest and Fitz freed Olivia of her cami, moving his mouth to the space between her breasts and then making his way down her body, kissing and licking and nibbling at her silky skin along the way. He reached her underwear and her hands were in his hair. He looked up at her. She was so beautiful, her eyes wide and dark with desire. "Livvie?" he asked, wanting her permission to proceed.

"Please," she moaned again, and he needed no more prompting. Removing her underwear quickly, he spread her legs and dove in, licking and lapping at her, worshipping her body the way she deserved. He couldn't get enough. He groaned appreciatively at her taste and held her steady as she writhed and trembled beneath him. Her moans soon became cries and Fitz increased his pace until he felt her climax pulse through her. Then he moved up her body to kiss her mouth again.

Olivia's hands worked his pants off of him and his erection sprung free. Fitz looked at her, once again wanting her permission to proceed, but she gave him more than permission when she took him into her hand and began to stroke him lightly. Now it was his turn to moan and writhe at her touch. "Oh God," he groaned. "I need – " he gasped as she moved him to her warm, wet folds.

"I need you," she answered, lifting her hips to meet him as he plunged into her.

He wanted to go slowly, he wanted to be gentle, but she was gripping his shoulders and then scraping her nails into his back, wrapping her legs around him, crying out and begging for him, and he felt himself losing control quickly. Soon the only sounds were his grunts and her cries and their flesh coming together as they moved into oblivion.

* * *

Olivia was pacing again. She couldn't help it, she'd always done it, and it was surprising there wasn't a path worn into her carpet as she always followed the same route. Towards the kitchen, around the couch, around the coffee table. Over and over. She had left Fitz sleeping in her bedroom. Because she had napped earlier, she couldn't seem to fall asleep again. She wanted to be comfortable lying with Fitz, but instead she felt suffocated. She had stolen his t-shirt though, and now wore it as she paced.

When Olivia had told Fitz that she was scared, she hadn't only meant that she was scared of Jake. Which she was. She was also scared of Fitz. The feelings she felt for him were unlike anything she had felt for any man before, and this scared her. One thing that Olivia was not good at was letting people in. Fitz already knew her so well that he realized when she was trying to shut him out. He was breaking through her walls. As a defense mechanism, the walls worked. She didn't feel good about it, she didn't want to hurt him, but she was afraid to be hurt herself. She needed her walls.

Finally giving up the incessant pacing, Olivia threw herself on the couch and switched on the TV, flicking through the channels until she reached the nightly news. As the national news report switched to the local news, Olivia's mouth dropped open in surprise. She slowly got to her feet, still listening to the report but knowing she needed to wake up Fitz. As she turned towards the bedroom, Fitz emerged from the room, his clothes halfway on, his phone in his hand, looking every bit as shocked as Olivia felt. For a moment, they just stared at one another. Then they both began to speak at the same time.


	16. Chapter 16

_A report out of Hartnett, NJ tonight, an intruder has entered the Mountaintop Group Home for Girls and is currently holding the ten residents and three staff members at gunpoint, insisting that he needs to speak to the principal of the high school that the girls attend daily. Vice Principal Cyrus Beene has arrived at the scene and is working with the police department to negotiate with the intruder, whose identity is unknown at this time. Stay tuned for further information on this breaking story._

"I'm going over there," Fitz said, as he buttoned his shirt.

"No, Fitz," Olivia said, "Cyrus is there, you shouldn't go, let him deal with it." Her heart was racing and she realized then that she would do almost anything to keep Fitz from walking straight into danger.

"Cyrus just called me, Liv!" Fitz said. "It's Billy and he wants to talk to me. I'm going."

"Billy?" Olivia repeated. "Amanda's boyfriend Billy? What does he want from you?" Even as she spoke she was heading towards her bedroom. "If you insist on going, I'm going with you," she told him, grabbing the nearest pair of jeans to her door and pulling them on.

"Absolutely not!" Fitz yelped. "No! I'm not bringing you somewhere you could get hurt again, no way."

Olivia shook her head. "Fitz, if you are going, I'm going too."

"Fine, Liv," Fitz finally said, "but you're waiting in the car."

"Fine," Olivia agreed, even though she hoped to change his mind when they got there. She grabbed her keys and ushered Fitz out of the house, realizing it was still raining once she stood on the front porch. Fitz grabbed her hand and they hurried across the yard to his car.

They made it to the group home in record time, silence enveloping them the entire way. Olivia wanted to offer Fitz some sort of advice for talking with Billy, but she had no idea what to tell him. She also still didn't know what Billy wanted from Fitz, and she wasn't sure that Fitz knew either.

Through the dark and the rain, Olivia could make out a group standing around under umbrellas, who she was sure were staff members from The Center. She was pretty sure she could identify both Abby and Quinn, and thought she saw Harrison and Tom as well. She moved to open the car door to get out and join them, but Fitz put a restraining hand on her arm. "Stay in the car," he hissed at her, and she could tell he was completely serious and would be very angry if she disobeyed. She pouted a little and he leaned over and kissed her on the lips. "I love you," he said. Without waiting for her to answer, he opened his door and got out.

"Fitz, wait!" Olivia said and he turned to look at her. "Be careful," she said. And as he moved to close the car door, she added, "I love you too."

* * *

Fitz strode towards the house, his long steps showing off a confidence he didn't feel. He had no idea what he was walking into and truthfully, he wasn't very excited to find out. However, the second he had heard that the girls who lived at the Mountaintop Group Home were in danger, he knew he would be getting involved. When he heard that not only were they in danger, but that the gunman was requesting to talk to him, he couldn't get there fast enough.

Now, he spotted Cyrus arguing with the very young looking police officer who was standing by the door to the house. He passed the laughable police line that had been set up to keep the media and other bystanders back. As he got closer, it became clear that the police officer was arguing with Cyrus, saying that no one could currently enter the house. The police department was unable to keep the girls safe and there was a strong likelihood that the shooter would fire at anyone entering who was not the person he wanted to talk to. Breathing slowly to try to calm his nerves, Fitz approached and introduced himself. "I believe that the person Billy wants to talk to is me," he said, sounding matter-of-fact but almost shaking with his anxiety at the situation.

"Ah yes, Dr. Grant," said the police officer. "I'm Officer Wallace. Do you have any idea what this gunman might want to speak to you about?"

Fitz sighed, his hand automatically raking through his already messy hair. "Billy Chambers was one of my students, he graduated last year. He still resides at Ocean View – a group home for boys – but I was told he was doing well, holding down a job, not causing much trouble. He's dating one of the girls that lives here – Amanda Tanner."

"Yes," agreed the Wallace. "Chambers already agreed to release a hostage if you take her place, and the girl he wants to release is Amanda."

Fitz and Cyrus both groaned at that bit of information. "He should have to release more than one of them!" Cyrus blurted.

Officer Wallace shook his head. "We tried, and we'll try again. Dr. Grant, are you willing to go in there and speak to Chambers?"

"Of course," Fitz answered.

"Okay," said Wallace. "So far we've been communicating with Chambers by phone, so we'll try that first. If we can get Chambers to leave the main room where he's holding the girls, that would seriously help us with isolating him and getting him out of there. I'm having my team surround the house now and if we can get him to a place with a clear shot – "

"You plan to shoot him?" Fitz asked, realizing too late how naïve he sounded.

"Hey, if he'll surrender amicably then fine, but he doesn't seem to be budging so far."

"Fitz, maybe you talking to him will do the trick," Cyrus said, and Fitz just nodded.

Officer Wallace pulled out a cell phone and made the call. "Chambers, it's Wallace," he said. "I've got Dr. Grant here." A pause. Then, "He'd love to talk to you too, I'll put him on." Fitz reached for the phone. Wallace didn't hand him the phone though, and then said, "If we send Grant in, we're going to need you to release some of the girls. Yes, some. Not just Amanda, Chambers!"

Fitz reached for the phone again and this time Wallace handed it over. "Billy?" Fitz said into the phone. "It's Dr. Grant. I heard you wanted to speak to me."

There was a moment of silence and then Billy replied, his voice colder and more frightening than Fitz remembered. "I want to speak to you in person. I want you to come inside, no funny business, no bringing the cops with you, just get in here. If it takes you longer than a minute, I'll shoot one of them," he added threateningly. Then Billy disconnected the call.

"Shit," Fitz said, handing back the phone.

"What happened?" Cyrus demanded.

"He said I need to get in there within a minute or he'll shoot one of them," Fitz replied. "I guess that's not enough time to get a bullet-proof vest on me?"

Officer Wallace rolled his eyes. "I've got one but it's all the way back on the road in my car," he said.

"Give him yours then!" Cyrus cried.

"No, the one in my car is the only one I have," Wallace clarified.

"Shit," Fitz said again. Then, "Well, he said he wants to talk to me, not kill me. So I'm in." He opened the front door to the house and stepped inside.

Fitz followed the main hallway into the common area of the home, which was basically a living room, although it was larger than one in an average house. At first glance, it looked as if the girls were having a normal evening, sitting quietly in groups of twos and threes. However, no one was talking and their faces were drawn and filled with worry. Billy was standing in the front of the room, gun in hand, walking back and forth and keeping watch over the girls. Fitz noticed the three overnight staff members sitting within the groups of girls, blending in as if they too were residents. Fitz tried to flash a smile at the girls without it looking too overly confident to Billy. After he did so, he realized it probably appeared as more of a grimace.

"Fitzy!" Billy greeted him as if they were old friends. Now Fitz definitely grimaced at the use of his childhood nickname.

Stepping closer to Billy, Fitz spoke, trying to keep his voice calm and soothing. "What's going on Billy?" he asked.

"Glad you finally decided to let me talk to you!" Billy answered.

"Finally?" Fitz couldn't help but to question.

"Uh, yeah, did you really think I wanted to stop by The Center to visit my old friends?" When Fitz didn't reply, Billy went on. "I had Amanda ask you for permission for me to come by, and I would have come whether you said yes or no, but then I thought it would be more fun to meet you here."

"And what did you want to talk to me about?" Fitz asked, suddenly feeling mounting anger inside of him. Billy thought it would be _fun_ to scare a group of teenaged girls who had all already been traumatized throughout their lives?

Billy began twirling the gun around, occasionally stopping to point it around the room as he spoke. "I think you know I'm going somewhere in life," he began. Fitz merely nodded. "I'm gonna be famous someday. But I have to start somewhere. That's where you come in."

"It is?" Fitz couldn't help but be incredulous. What did Billy want from him?

"Yeah. I need you to fix my grades and give me a transcript that can get me into a good school. So that means I can't have no transcript from 'The Center for Academic and Behavioral Excellence,'" he sneered. "It has to be somewhere fancy, like Rutgers Prep or some shit."

Fitz had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Billy, give me the gun and we can talk about this," he said, taking a step towards Billy.

"I'm not done!" Billy shouted, causing many of the girls to jump. Fitz wanted to jump too, but he held himself still. "I also need a glowing letter of recommendation from Mr. Principal himself. Or should I say _Doctor_ Principal?"

"Alright, just give me the gun," Fitz tried again, pleading with Billy with his eyes.

"Step back!" Billy shouted, waving the gun at Fitz. Fitz froze where he stood. He heard a whimper from one of the girls, and Billy turned the gun towards the sound.

A movement behind him caught Fitz's attention and he realized Officer Wallace had entered the house. He had apparently meant to come into the room while Billy was distracted, but a creak in the floorboards caused heads to swing and Billy reacted, firing the gun manically. Everyone seemed to move at once, the girls running from the room or throwing themselves behind couches, the staff members jumping in front of the closest girls, and Fitz flying towards Wallace, as if he could protect the man from being shot.

As he moved, Fitz realized that Wallace had his gun out too and had aimed at Billy. But Fitz was between the two men. He didn't know which way to turn or how to move from the cross-fire. The edges of his vision blackened and a different vision took over his mind; a vision that had nothing to do with the situation he found himself in. Instead of two men firing guns, he only saw Olivia. Her beautiful face filled his mind and as pain took over his body and he fell to the floor, the name he cried out was "Livvie."

* * *

Olivia stayed in Fitz's car for approximately two minutes after he left her. Then she got antsy, wanting to know what was going on inside the house, and wanting to join the group of other staff members she had seen when they had pulled up. She ran across the wet grass, coming up behind Abby and causing the redhead to jump when she touched her shoulder. "Liv, you're here!" Abby exclaimed.

"I am," Olivia agreed with a smile. "Have you heard anything? What's going on?"

"No, we're not really sure," Abby answered. "We just know Billy Chambers is inside with a gun and he's wanting to talk to Fitz."

"Yeah, Fitz is here," Olivia said, pointing at the house. From where they stood they could just about make out Fitz, Cyrus, and the police officer standing by the door.

The group observed as Fitz and the officer spoke to one another. After a few minutes, Harrison spoke softly. "Grant is going to be a hero and go in there." Abby placed her hand on Olivia's shoulder comfortingly. Olivia closed her eyes briefly.

Olivia glanced at the media presence on the lawn. The local news was there and she could make out the reporter talking. She wondered what was being said and if the media somehow knew more than they did. Her head flipped back around in surprise when she heard Abby speaking. "You have some nerve showing up here!" she cried.

Jake Ballard had approached the group. Olivia felt herself shrinking into Abby and she had to remind herself that she was not weak or scared of anyone.

Ignoring Abby, Jake spoke, "What's going on in there guys? I'm worried about the kids."

"You're worried about the kids?" Abby demanded. "You might have worried about the kids this morning! Now those girls don't have their teacher anymore, the teacher they should have been able to trust!"

Jake looked surprised for a moment. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean you really think you still have a job at The Center?" Abby cried.

Olivia observed Harrison, Quinn, and Tom looking at each other, trying to figure out what Abby was talking about, and for a moment she felt glad that they didn't know what had happened that morning. Jake's righteous indignation was rather frustrating though and Olivia was also glad that Abby was ripping into him.

"Where were you all day, man?" Harrison asked Jake.

"Nowhere," Jake replied.

"Well, why don't you go back there?" Abby bit out, and Olivia actually smiled.

"Um, guys," Quinn spoke up. "There's no one by the door anymore." Everyone turned their eyes to the house and realized Quinn was right. The police officer who had been stationed by the door was no longer visible.

It was then that the sound of gunfire broke into the silence.

Olivia felt almost as if she had been shot. The sound echoed in her head and pain radiated from her heart. She heard herself screaming as she began to move towards the house, only to be held back by Abby and Quinn. Olivia kept screaming and the only word that came out that made sense was "Fitz!"


	17. Chapter 17

Olivia was pacing again, this time up and down a hospital hallway. She felt like she was somewhere outside of her body, her thoughts were everywhere, and she could barely remember how she'd gotten to the hospital in the first place. After the gunshots, the place had exploded into a frenzy of action. Police officers had appeared from the sides of the house and entered first, followed by the media members, who were held back by the police and denied entry into the building. Ambulances arrived within minutes – they must have been waiting nearby – and those who had been injured were brought out of the house.

Olivia had huddled close to the ground crying and trying not to scream. Abby and Quinn had surrounded her quickly, shielding her from the others. From above them, Harrison provided a running commentary on what he could see happening. The first person removed from the house on a stretcher was apparently the police officer, Gideon Wallace. Next was Billy Chambers himself. Olivia could hear the others asking Harrison if Billy was badly injured or if he had died, but she didn't hear Harrison's answer. She heard the ambulance motors running and sirens coming and going. She heard chatter around them and she heard the news reporters speaking into their video cameras. She heard her heartbeat in her ears.

She pushed her head into her knees, remembering how she had felt when she was twelve years old and had learned that her mother had died. Her mother died in a plane crash and Olivia had never been able to say goodbye. She wondered how Fitz's mother had died. She had never asked him because she knew it was difficult for her to discuss her own mother's death and she imagined it might be difficult for him to discuss as well. She wondered if he had been given the chance to say goodbye.

Suddenly she felt herself being hauled to her feet. Quinn and Abby were dragging her across the grass, towards the stretcher which had just been brought out of the house. The stretcher that held Fitz. The love of her life. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move her own legs without help, but within seconds she was beside him. He was awake and he was looking at her, though he seemed unable to talk. Quinn pushed Olivia forward and she climbed into the ambulance with Fitz, not caring whether there was room for her inside. She was staying with him and if she had the choice, she wasn't leaving his side again.

Of course, when they reached the hospital, she was pushed aside by doctors and nurses and left alone to worry about Fitz's fate. Which was why she was currently pacing the hallway.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump. "There you are, Liv," said Abby's voice. "I just got here. Did they tell you anything?"

"No," Olivia replied, her voice quiet. Not knowing anything was killing her.

"C'mon," Abby said. "We should go to the waiting area. The doctors will never find us here when they come out with an update."

"Where's everyone else?" Olivia asked.

"Quinn and Harrison went inside to help the staff with the girls."

"Were any of them hurt?" Olivia was worried about the girls who had witnessed the shoot-out.

"I don't believe so," Abby said. "Just traumatized."

Olivia nodded. "And what about Tom? And Jake?" she asked.

"Tom went over to the boys' house. I told Jake to get lost. Now come on."

Olivia let herself be pulled along by Abby and even though she really wanted to be alone, she knew it was better that someone was with her. Abby deposited Olivia in a chair in an empty waiting room and then left her, presumably to talk to the staff about Fitz's condition. Olivia drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them, bending her face down and breathing in the smell of Fitz on the white t-shirt of his that she still wore. When Abby returned, she sat down next to Olivia and said, "He's still in surgery. But he was shot in the leg. No vital organs. He was lucky."

"Oh God," Olivia said.

"Olivia, he's going to be okay. Fitz is strong," Abby told her.

Olivia could only nod. "How long have you known him?" she asked Abby.

"About a year. He hired me to work at The Center," Abby answered.

"Are things always this crazy?"

Abby laughed. "Things are usually crazy, but this is a new level of crazy."

"Yeah," Olivia agreed. She sighed. Then said, "You know, I can remember the first time someone told me they loved me."

"You mean besides your parents?" Abby asked.

"I mean including my parents," Olivia said. "It was at summer camp and one of my counselors helped me out after I hurt my arm and I thanked her for it. And then she said she loved me. It was the first time I felt like someone actually cared about me." Olivia wasn't entirely sure why she was talking so openly to Abby about her childhood, but there was something about the woman that made her feel comfortable. They hadn't known each other for very long, but Olivia already considered Abby a friend. "There have been times since then where I felt loved," she went on, "but it's nothing like this. The way Fitz loves me is like nothing I've ever felt before." Olivia took a breath, willing herself not to cry.

"Liv, Fitz is one of the good guys," Abby said.

"I'm always so afraid of being hurt that I push people away. Sometimes I think I don't deserve to be loved," Olivia went on. "But I love him. I love Fitz. I need him to be okay." At this, Olivia began to cry again. Abby rubbed her arm gently.

"He's going to be okay, Liv," she said again. "I mean, he'll probably need some help getting around, and he may have some difficulties in the bedroom – " The look on Abby's face as she said this caused Olivia to laugh out loud. "What?" she said, feigning innocence. "I think I've heard that about leg wounds!"

Olivia shook her head. "If he's alive, I'll take it," she said.

* * *

Fitz opened his eyes to white. He stared at the white, wondering where he was. As his eyes focused, he realized he was looking at the ceiling. He realized he was surrounded by fluorescence from the lighting in the room. And he realized his leg was on fire.

Fitz opened his mouth and choked out a cry of pain. His mouth was so dry, his cry barely escaped. But someone heard him, and Fitz's view of the ceiling was replaced by the view of a face. The woman who looked down at him had green eyes that displayed pity and concern. "You're awake, well that's wonderful. But I see you're in pain. The meds should kick in any minute now," she said.

Fitz groaned and licked at his lips, trying to rid them of the dryness. The woman reached for a cup and began to feed him ice chips. "I need Livvie," Fitz managed to murmur.

The nurse didn't seem to understand what Fitz wanted though. "Don't worry," she told him. "The pain will dull soon, you'll be asleep again soon."

"Livvie," Fitz said again and the nurse just smiled and patted his arm reassuringly.

The next time Fitz woke up, Olivia was there. She wasn't just sitting in the room with him though, she had somehow managed to fit herself onto the hospital bed beside him. Her arm was over his chest and her face was next to his shoulder. He immediately felt stronger and safer knowing she was there. He brought his arm up behind her and placed it on hers, gently caressing her from her shoulder to her elbow. She shifted and he realized she was asleep.

"Livvie," Fitz whispered. He said it again, a little louder, and she lifted her head. He watched as her expressively large eyes widened and then filled with tears.

"Fitz," she whispered. She stroked his face gently and he felt his eyelids flutter. "I was so scared," she said.

"I'm sorry," he answered. "I'm so sorry." His throat was full of his emotion and his heart ached for her. "Livvie, I need to know what happened," he told her.

She looked at him, surprise and concern registering on her face. "Your leg," she answered. "You were shot in the leg. The surgery went well and it will take time to recover, but you're going to be just fine."

He nodded, not entirely caring. It wasn't what he wanted to know. "The girls…" he said.

"Fitz," Olivia said softly, and he inhaled sharply, expecting the worst. "The girls are fine. No one was hurt."

Fitz exhaled. He was relieved. If the girls were fine, he had done what he had needed to do. "And Billy?" he asked.

"Billy was shot multiple times," Olivia said softly. She stroked his furrowed brows gently. "He's in recovery now, Fitz, but he's going to jail. You can't save him."

He shook his head. Of course he couldn't save Billy. It was too late for that.

"The police officer didn't make it," Olivia told him softly.

Fitz didn't respond right away. Then he said, "God, that guy was an idiot." Images flashed at him – the officer telling him there were no bullet proof vests available, then sneaking into the house; Billy raising the gun; Fitz standing in the middle of the two shooters. Livvie, his Livvie, alone in the car where he'd left her to while trying to be a hero. And now, his Livvie, curled against him in a hospital bed. He couldn't help himself anymore and he scrunched his eyes as tears began to fall. Olivia began to kiss his face and he turned his head into her neck, burrowing into the warm, soft flesh he found there. Her hands went to his hair and she held him until he calmed. He drew back and kissed her on her lips, gently at first, and then harder as he felt her begin to respond to him.

He stopped kissing her when he felt her tears on his face. "Livvie?" he said softly.

"Fitz, are you okay?" she asked.

If he was honest, he would tell her he was not. He was in pain, physically and emotionally. He had quite literally been through the worst day of his life. But she was with him, and that was what mattered. "I'm okay as long as you're with me," he said gruffly. "But are you okay?"

"I'm okay if you're okay," she answered with a small smile.

"You are the most amazing woman I've ever known," he said, and then closed his eyes.

"Fitz?" She sounded worried and he forced his eyes open, concentrating on her face.

"I'm so tired," he told her, closing his eyes again.

"It's okay, go to sleep," she said.

"You're staying?" he asked, his eyes still closed and feeling as if he was drifting away. "Please don't leave me," he added.

"I'm not leaving," she told him.

* * *

Abby sat outside Fitz's hospital room, where she had been for the past – well, she wasn't sure how many hours – since she and Olivia had been told he was out of surgery and sleeping. Abby was guarding the room from intruders, protecting the two people inside from interruptions. She obviously let the nurses by, but any other visitors, however well-meaning, would not be allowed in. In fact, the reason Olivia hadn't been asked to leave was Abby's insistence that she was Fitz's wife – Abby knew no one would be asking for proof of marriage in a situation like this one.

Why was Abby doing this? She was there because she wanted Fitz and Olivia to be together. Watching the both of them throughout the day, when they were together and when they were not, served to convince Abby that they were meant to be. There were definitely outside forces determined to conspire against them, and the bad things that kept happening to them were not so conducive to their relationship, but they were obviously in love with each other. Abby wanted that kind of love, and if she could encourage Fitz and Olivia, two people she cared about, to have it, she would.

And if that meant telling the person who now stood in front of her to get lost for the second time that night, she would do it. Happily.


	18. Chapter 18

After Fitz fell asleep once again, Olivia gently removed herself from his bed and sat beside him, this time in a chair, watching him breathe. He looked peaceful; not as if he had suffered a gunshot wound. For that, Olivia was grateful. Allowing her thoughts to wander, she began to contemplate the days following. Would she return to The Center without Fitz? Would she stay with him and help his recovery? How long did they have encased in the privacy of this hospital room before other visitors arrived and everyone at The Center found out about their relationship?

As if on cue, Olivia noted a commotion coming from the hallway outside of the room. She heard Abby's voice and the voice of a male – a male voice that she was somehow not surprised to hear. She had imagined that Jake Ballard would not give up easily, would come back to find her and harm her further, and now she wondered if her fears were justified. Then she realized something. More than being afraid, she was curious. She wanted to know why Jake had come to the hospital and what he wanted from her. She stood up and opened the door, stepping into the corridor.

"Come on, Abby," Jake was saying. "Fitz and I have been friends for a long time. I just want to see him and know that he's okay."

"Jake," Abby said firmly. "You and Fitz may have been friends, but that was before you assaulted Olivia today! Not to mention your low blow on the basketball court last week."

"Assaulted? I did not assault her!" Jake exclaimed.

"Oh really?" Abby questioned. "The police certainly believed you did when we filed a police report today!"

Jake looked scared for a moment, but then anger replaced the fear in his eyes. "How could you do that?" he asked.

"Easy!" Abby shouted. "You left bruises all over her arms! You're lucky she didn't press charges!" Turning on her heel, she spotted Olivia watching from the doorway.

"Really Jake," Olivia said as coldly as she could manage. "You'll want to leave now and if I see you again I won't hesitate to apply for a restraining order against you. I didn't press charges, but I did file a police report so that if it comes down to it, there's proof that you did assault me today."

Jake glared at her. "Did you just come out of Grant's room?" he asked petulantly.

"That's none of your business," Olivia answered.

Jake looked at her for a beat. "You'll regret this," he said, and then walked away.

"Really?" Abby said. "What an idiot."

Olivia just shook her head. "You don't have to hang out here, you know," she said, even though the truth was that she did appreciate it.

"It's not a problem," Abby smiled. "But hey, do you need anything? Clothes? Food?"

Olivia smiled. She gestured at her outfit – Fitz's t-shirt and a pair of jeans and little else. "Actually, if you could go to my place and get me a change of clothes – including underwear – that would be amazing," she said.

Abby laughed. "Sure, Liv," she said, and Olivia got her house key and handed it over. "See you in a bit, Liv," Abby said. "Give Fitz a kiss for me!"

Olivia just laughed at the red head and headed back into Fitz's room, returning to sit beside his bed to watch him sleep. When Abby returned, Olivia was happy to replace her jeans with sweats, and then she sat again. She did not sleep, she merely watched Fitz breathing in and out. Soon she found her own breaths matching his and therefore it was noticeable when his breaths began to change. She watched him carefully and heard him breathing out whimpering sounds of pain. She gently ran her hand across his brow and frowned to herself, noticing he was sweating.

Pushing the nurse call button, Olivia got up and retrieved a washcloth, which she dampened slightly and brought back to Fitz, gently wiping his face. His eyes flew open and he grasped at her hand, panting out her name. "Please don't leave me," he moaned. "I need you, Livvie."

Olivia frowned, wondering if Fitz was confused. She hadn't left his side for more than a few minutes since he had been out of surgery. "I'm here, Fitz," she told him gently, and she watched his eyes focus on her.

"Thank you," he said in a whisper, his hands grasping tightly on to hers. "It hurts," he added with another whimper and Olivia felt like crying.

"Shh," she said, wiping his brow with the washcloth. "I called the nurse, you probably need another dose of pain meds."

The nurse entered the room then, ready to check Fitz's blood pressure and vital stats. If she was surprised to see Olivia there, she didn't show it. She merely smiled and asked Fitz how he was feeling. "Like I've been shot," Fitz answered and Olivia actually cracked a smile at his lame attempt at a joke.

The nurse busied herself with changing Fitz's bandage and Olivia looked away. "Mrs. Grant," the nurse addressed her and Olivia didn't bother correcting her. "You might want to watch how to do this if you are going to care for your husband's wound once you get home." Olivia nodded and caught Fitz's eye. He was actually grinning now, although she could tell he was still in pain.

"You hear that, Mrs. Grant?" he teased her. She shook her head at him and returned her attention to the nurse.

She found herself wincing at the site of the wound on Fitz's leg. "How long does it take a wound like this to heal?" she asked the nurse.

"About six weeks," answered the nurse. "You were very lucky, Dr. Grant," she added, "and since you're in good health, you shouldn't have a very difficult recovery. Alright, I'm going to put another dose of pain meds in your IV and you should feel less pain in no time." She smiled at Olivia as she finished with Fitz and then left the room.

"Livvie, will you lie down with me again?" Fitz asked her, his voice sounding soft and almost childlike.

"Of course," she murmured. She arranged herself next to him as she had earlier, placing her hand on his chest so she could feel his heart beating. She eventually fell asleep again, the words 'Mrs. Grant' and 'your husband' echoing in her head.

* * *

When Fitz opened his eyes the next morning, he was happy to find Olivia still curled into him. While he would never have wished this kind of agony on anyone, he was thrilled that he had someone like Olivia by his side to help him through it. He loved this woman so desperately and the situation they found themselves in had only increased his feelings for her. He smiled to himself as he thought about how, if they one day were to vow themselves to be together 'for better or for worse,' he knew they would be just fine because they had already been through the worst a couple should ever go through.

Fitz tried to shift himself in the bed without waking Olivia, as his leg was throbbing again. He imagined he was due for another wound check and pain medication dose, and as he had that though the door opened and the nurse returned to the room. The nurse smiled at Olivia's sleeping form and said quietly, "Looks like you caught a good one."

Fitz nodded. "She's amazing," he answered, turning his head to Olivia's and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I'm sorry but she'll have to move so I can check you," the nurse said and at that Olivia stretched a little and detangled herself from Fitz. She stood up and watched as the nurse worked. "We're going to switch you to oral pain meds today, Dr. Grant," the nurse continued, "and we're going to try to get you out of bed and moving around."

"So soon?" Olivia asked, her hand resting on Fitz's arm.

"It's good for the healing," the nurse replied, smiling.

Fitz smiled too, wanting to be strong for Olivia. "It's okay, Livvie. I'm okay."

But later, when he actually was out of bed leaning on a pair of crutches, he once again had to admit that he was not okay. He was not used to being weak or in pain or needing help with getting around and it kind of sucked. Olivia was certainly doing her best at encouraging him, barely leaving the room, and being strong for him, but he was becoming frustrated and was in need of a break. He collapsed onto the hospital bed and tossed his crutches aside. When Olivia sat beside him, he took her into his arms and kissed her head.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him after a few minutes.

"Honestly?" he asked and she nodded. "This whole day I've been thinking about how the nurse assumed you were my wife."

Olivia laughed. "Abby told them we were married so they wouldn't kick me out," she explained.

Fitz laughed too. "I don't care," he said.

"What?" Olivia looked at him.

"It doesn't matter that she thought we were married because Abby said we are. The point is that I liked it. I liked hearing her call me your husband and her calling you Mrs. Grant. I love you." He put his hand on her face and turned her head so he could see her eyes.

They stared at each other for a moment until Olivia finally spoke. "I liked it too," she said. "I love you, too."

**AN: Hey readers...This chapter is a bit shorter than most. I'm not really sure where this story is going anymore! Maybe it's over? To be honest, I started writing another story that is a little less heavy and already finished the first chapter, but I'm not sure about publishing it yet. I guess we'll see!**


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